Christmas Day
"Nice sweater Ron."
It was Christmas day and the four friends were sitting around the Gryffindor tree, dressed in full length Pajama's since the school cheeped out and refuses to raise the heater.
They had gotten up before the others, hoping that they would get there before it was a madhouse.
Correct in their assumption they were now sitting around the fern, presents in hand.
"Oh come on, don't laugh, my mum made it."
Ron had just opened his and had gotten a red sweater with an 'R' written in gold on the front and a bag of gourmet chocolate popcorn and a few other trinkets and knickknacks.
Next down the line were America and Canada.
In between them there was a long and thick box wrapped in a map of the earth.
"Wow dude, so they cheeped out so much this year that they didn't even bother to get us separate presents, seriously? I sent them each present and very good ones at that" .
"Well at least this way we know it's not a bomb or dead animal like during your cold spell with Ivan" Mathew pointed out.
"Bomb!" The red and black haired boy exclaimed.
"Yeah… I and Ivan didn't have the best relationship, different ideals and stuff. But we get along fine now… sort of".
Ignoring the bewildered looks he was receiving America picked up the note on the package.
Dear Alfred and Mathew;
Happy Christmas, I hope your liking school.
I know you are going to you are going to be a spoiled brat and complain how we all cheeped out by combining your gifts (Alfred that's you), but trust me you'll see why when you open it.
Also they only let me send one anyway, so some of the countries sent your gifts to your houses in the states.
Everyone would like to thank you for their gifts; I actually did enjoy the tea set you sent.
I was pleasantly surprised after last year you bought me 101 Ways To Make Your Food Not Suck.
Everyone at the meeting right now is telling me I should pass around the card to sign now, so I'll have to write you later.
Sincerely Arthur
Ps. Alfred, Try using the wrapping as a map instead of your usual narcissistic nonsense.
On the other side of the card held hundreds of names, most of which in different languages.
"Wow" Ron exclaimed. "How many people do you know".
"Arthur and Francis are work for the government, so we meet a lot of people from around the world" Mathew answered.
Not bothering to save the wrapping paper, (He had a map of the states anyway, why did he need anything else?), America tore open the package and looked inside.
In the box were sitting two brand new Nimbus Nine Thousands.
"Cool!" they shouted taking them out of the boxes.
"Wow, those are even better than Malfoys" Harry added.
Speaking of Harry, it was his turn to go.
First he opened one with Hermione's name on it and found some chocolate frogs, then Mrs. Weasely's which had a knitted jumper, in the next one with Hagrid's name he found a flute and the third from the Dursley's had a 50 pence coin.
The last one was squat and thick.
Attached to the box was a small piece of parchment.
Your father left this in
My possession before
He died.
It is time it was returned
To you.
Use it well.
Harry opened the box and pulled out a long cloak.
"What is it" asked Ron.
"It's some kind of cloak" Harry answered.
"Well then put it on, it looks assez" Mathew said.
"Bro, did you just call the thing pretty?"
"Sorry, my French slips out sometimes, I meant cool."
Taking the French as a complement, Harry slipped on the cloak.
"Wow!"
Harry looked down and saw that everything except his head was invisible.
"My body's gone!"
"I know what that is" said Ron, internally yelling at himself for sounding like Hermione.
"That's an invisibility cloak, they're really rare. Who gave it to you?"
"I don't know it just said use it well?"
Alfred jumped up and Ran over.
"Cool it works like me and Matt's rings."
"Wait, what?" they asked confused.
"Oh, we thought you knew" Answered Mathew, "Here we'll show you."
The two had come to trust the others lately, so that they don't hide as much as they used to.
They weren't planning on telling them that they're the life force of North America, especially since last time someone did that Harry's parents paid the price. But they were comfortable showing some things about them.
The two touched the rings together and went invisible.
"Why hadn't anyone bothered to tell me this before?" stated Ron.
The two disconnected and became visible again.
"Sorry we thought you knew".
Ron huffed and went back to his popcorn.
The three then sat around and talked for about an hour, till they were forced out by the mob of kids getting their presents.
Harry and Ron went back to their room to write thank you notes and play with some of the toys Ron got, and the nations went to the field to practice on their new brooms.
Late that night, Harry crept out of bed.
He was going to the library to see if he could sneak into the restricted area using his new cloak. He needed to know more about this Flannel character and wasn't going to stop until he figured out who he was.
He got out silently and walked towards the door.
Unfortunately for him, after years of war the nations had become very light sleepers.
As soon as Harold left the room, they both bolted up.
"Follow him" they signed and walked over to connect the rings.
Once invisible they chased after Harry.
They noticed that when they were in the invisible state they could somehow see Harry even in the invisibility coat
Not making a sound they tracked him all the way to the library.
They saw him sneak into the restricted area and start searching for something.
When he turned around he saw the twins, even though they were still invisible.
"What are you doing here" he mouthed.
'So he can see us to' they thought.
The two walked over to him.
"We followed you; we thought if you were going to a fight you would need backup."
"Who is in there?" they heard a voice yell.
"It's Mr. Flich" whispered Harry, "We've got to hide".
The boys ran out, narrowly avoiding being spotted by Filtch's cat.
While walking out the library they saw Quirel being pushed up against the wall by Snape.
"You don't want me as your enemy Quirel" Snape growled.
"W-what do you mean" Quirel stuttered.
"You know very well what I mean" Snape retorted.
The three were watching in shock, when Snape looked over at them.
He cocked his head and started to reach out towards were they were standing.
Putting their free hand over their mouths to keep from screaming, they backed away and Snape felt nothing.
"We are going to have another little chat soon" he continued. "When you've had time to decide where your loyalties lie".
Filtch came up to the teachers from in the library.
"Sorry professors, I found this" he said holding up Harry broken lamp. "In the restricted section. It's still hot and that means that there is a student out of bed".
The teachers rushed into the library and kids used that as an opportunity for the three duck into a door and quietly shut it, making sure that it wouldn't squeak.
Once feeling safe the three unveiled themselves.
"How did you even know I was gone?" asked Harry.
"We're really light sleepers" answered Canada.
When they turned around they saw a mirror with a gold frame and the words Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafr uoy ton wohs i carved onto it.
"That's I show not your face but your heart's desire reflected" They both deducted quickly.
"How did you figure that out so fast?" Harry asked, suddenly glad the two had come.
"We've spent a lot of time decoding things" Mathew said easily.
Ignoring the overly simplistic answer, Harry walked forward to the mirror.
He put his hand on it, as if wanting to fall in like in Alice and the looking glass.
When he looked, he couldn't help but smile.
All around him were his family.
Not the Dudleys, his real family.
His grandmothers laughing merrily, his grandfather smoking on a long pipe.
And in the center looking proud were his parents.
Harry looked behind him, but saw no one other than the twins who were looking at him confused.
He turned back to the mirror and looked to his left.
"Mom?" He asked and the women nodded.
"Dad?"
It was the family portrait he had always dreamed of.
'I've got to show Ron" he thought.
"Stay here. I'll be back in a minute" he yelled to the confused looking twins.
He threw on his cloak, ran to his room, and woke Ron.
"Ron, Ron you've really got to see this!" he yelled, confident in the fact that Nevile was a deep sleeper.
"Ron, Ron, come on get out of bed."
"Why?" Ron grumbled, still half asleep.
"There's something you've got to see, now come on"
A few minutes later they were back in the room.
"What are they doing here" Ron asked pointing to the twins.
"We're light sleepers" they answered in unison.
"Never mind them, come on" Harry said, pulling Ron over to the mirror. "Come look it's my parents".
Ron stepped in front of the mirror and looked.
"I don't see anything?"
"You've got to see it properly" said Harry moving Ron into position.
When he was staring at it dead on he saw his dream.
"That's my mo…" Harry started but was abruptly cut off.
"That's me, as head boy! And I'm holding the quibich cup. And bloody hell I'm quibich captain too! I look good."
"Let me see" said Alfred pulling Mathew over.
Ron reluctantly stepped aside to let the twins have their turn.
When they looked into the mirror, they saw the world meeting centre.
They were standing in uniform, giving a speech to the others like any other day.
The difference was instead of the counties usual uniforms, they were all clad in Red, White and Blue with a Maple leaf and stars on their hats.
The other and more noticeable difference was where flags of all the other countries had been flying proud.
In their spot was an army of flags of a different kind.
Ones the two had developed years ago.
56 years ago
"I think that the leaf should go in the center here."
It was the beginning of NORAD and the brothers decided to get together to celebrate.
A few beers, later they were now sitting with scissors, glue and Red, White and Blue construction paper.
"Yeah, and we can have your stripes going behind it, eh".
They had been working on a flag design for about an hour now and had finally finished their work.
It was quite beautiful actually.
The Red and blue stripes flowing behind the large white maple leaf surrounded by stars.
A perfect combination of the two countries banners.
"You know" America said, spinning in his chair.
"When we take over the world, this flag will be flying high and tall across the earth."
"Yeah, eh" Canada agreed. "No more wars and equality be far spread."
"Freedom shall rain supreme" added the U.S melodramatically.
"Fairness"
"Liberty"
"Kindness"
"Justice"
"Generosity"
The two went back and forth, getting lost in their perfect dream world.
That day NORAD became more than just some just some bases and satellites to bring the nations closer.
It spawned an idea that the two now had now spent the past five years suppressing.
It brought back the little Itch America had felt during his Manifest destiny years: The ache that had never really gone away, and now spread it to his brother.
They never dared to ever admit it even to themselves.
That their dream wasn't the countries of the world coming to peace.
No it was darker.
It was there being only one country left.
A country run by two brothers.
Spawning in the west and slowly spreading like virus.
Spreading and spreading until the world was covered in Maple leafs, Stars and stripes.
And front and center in this new world, a pair of twins would stand at the helm guiding it.
Not the Italy's.
They could never control and empire like this.
Only one continent had that kind of power.
No, the new world would be quite ironically spawned from the New World.
And let everyone stuck in the past, fall victim in their wake.
The two were standing in of the mirror, with almost psychotic grins on their faces.
"Should we move them" Ron asked, feeling a shiver looking at the two who radiated pure power at the moment.
"Probably" Harry answered, also feeling unnerved.
The boys each grabbed an arm of a twin and yanked them back from the mirror.
The four all stumbled back and the twins broke out of the haze.
"Hey" Alfred asked excitedly, "Do you think that shows the future?"
"How can it?" Harry replied, a little weary of the sudden change of atmosphere. "Both my parents are dead".
The next night Harry went again to the Mirror with the twins.
Ron had decided not to come since he was 'creeped out' by the aura the twins had gotten when they looked in the glass.
Harry however, was too desperate to see his parents again to care went anyways.
They arrived at the room and when they walked in Harry immediately ran to the mirror.
The other two quickly followed in suit.
They had been sitting and staring for a few minutes when the sound of footsteps went echoing down the room.
The three were too caught up in there fantasy to notice.
"Back again I see" an old and wise voice called out.
The three turned and saw Dumbledoor in his usual black robe standing strait and tall.
The three quickly scrambled up and to the side of the mirror.
"I see you like many others have found the delights in the mirror of erisid".
"That's desire backward" the nations blurted.
"Yes you are correct, very smart of you to notice" Dumbledore stated."I trust by now you realize what it does."
Dumbledore was taking slow, controlled steps towards the boys.
They shook their heads no, (though Harry had an idea and the twins did know but refused to believe it).
"Let me give you one clue. The happiest man on earth would look into the mirror and see only himself, exactly as he is".
"So then it shows us what we want. Whatever we want" Harry asked.
"No it can't!" the two nations cried out.
"T-that's not what we want" said Mathew worriedly.
"I-it can't be".
"I'm afraid it is yes and no Mr. Williams and Mr. Jones, It shows nothing more or less than the deepest and most desperate desires of our hearts."
"But we don't want that!" Alfred shouted in denial.
"We can't want that"!
"You may not want it, but your heart might and you cannot control what is pre-written in your nature."
"For example you Harry, have never known your family. You see them standing beside you."
The two were standing there wide eyed.
That can't be their deepest desire, it just can't.
They are the nations of equality and justice.
True, in the world they created it is fair and ruled by the people, but they still had to have taken over.
Betrayed friends, enemies and family alike to come to power.
True America isn't known for peace like Canada because of its habit of sticking its nose in places it doesn't belong.
And Canada isn't renowned for its army and military like the U.S.
But they were supposed to offset each other.
One be the Yin and the other the Yang.
America was supposed to be the one who needed to be checked by Canada.
But if they both had the itch, the need to conquer, what would happen?
What is stopping the rise of North American empire?
How many of their ideals would they put aside once they had taken over to make sure they didn't fall like the British?
These were questions the two didn't want to have to answer.
"Just remember this boys" he continued, "This mirror gives us neither knowledge nor truth. Men have wasted away in front of it, either trying to live through it or denying what they see" he said the second comment clearly aimed at the nations.
"Even gone mad. That is why tomorrow it will be moved to a new home".
"And I must ask you boys" he said taking the time to look at each individually in the eye.
"Do not go looking for it again."
"It does not do well to dwell on dreams, and forget to live."
The boys stood silent as Dumbledore walked out the room.
Soon enough they followed, for once the same question burning through their minds.
'Is that really my dream?'