Next Night
"It is a pity they let the old punishments go. Detention used to mean hanging by your thumbs in the dungeon. God I miss the screaming."
The six were being led out again to Hagrid's hut to serve their detention for the incident the night before.
"You've got a little job to do" Finch told them, like a hangman to a criminal. "Inside the dark forest".
The four wizards paled a little while the nations shurgged (it's not like they could die anyway) and dragged their feet over to the hobble.
"Sorry lot this is" Finch chuckled to Hagrid.
Hagrid just sighed and continued to set up the equipment.
"Oh you're not still on about that dragon are you?"
Hagrid looked up and said in a defeated voice "Norbert's gone. Dumbledore sent him off to Romania to live in a colony."
"Well that's good isn't it" Hermione tried to cheer him up. "At least he'll be with his own kind."
"Yeah but what if he don't like Romania? What if the other dragons are mean to him? He's only a baby after all."
For a second Canada was about to say that Romania was a great person, maybe a little creepy, but nice, but then he realized they meant the country not... the country? Person? Thing? Whatever.
"Oh for god's sake" Finch groaned. "Pull yourself together man. You're going into the forest after all. Not the best idea to lose your wits about now."
"The forest?!" Malfoy shrieked. "I thought that was a joke, we can't go in there! Students aren't allowed. And there are…" He paused listening to a distant howl. "Werewolves".
Flinch glowered at him.
"Oh there are more than werewolves in those trees. You can be sure of that."
"Nighty, night" he said waking away.
"Come on" Hagrid motioned, "Let's go".
The six followed Hagrid into the misty twilight woods, Hagrids lantern serving as the only source of light.
After a few minutes he stopped, set down his weapons and walked over to a reflective puddle.
He dipped a finger in and brought it up for closer examination.
"Hagrid, what is that?" Harry asked.
"What we're here for" Hagrid responded and held up his fingers. "See that, that's unicorn blood, is what that is."
"I found one dead a few weeks ago, and this one has been hurt bad by somebody".
Harry looked to the side and saw what looked like a hooded man, but chose to write it off as just seeing things to the paranoia that comes standard here.
"So it's our job to go and find the poor beast."
"Ron, Hermione you'll come with me and fang and Harry, you'll go with Malfoy and the doubles."
"Fine" Draco huffed. "If we get maimed it's your fault."
"Dude we'll be fine, you're with the Hero!" Alfred cheered, not at all affected by the dark and dreary jungle.
At least here you were stepping over dead leafs, not dead bodies.
So they set off walking.
"Wait till my father hears about this, this is servant stuff." Draco complained.
"Draco I think it would be better if you just relax" Mathew politely cut in.
"Shut it, there's a reason nobody talks to you."
"Hey don't talk to my brother like that! If I didn't know better 'Snake eyes' I'd say you were scared."
"Oh Snake Eyes, how original" he rolled his eyes. "I'm not scared 'Colonies', which is by the way a much better insult."
The two rolled their eyes and kept walking forward.
"Whatever you say" they mumbled.
Eventually the group came across a clearing surrounded by trees.
They walked into it and stopped.
Hovering over a dead unicorn was a man in a black coat.
Alfred immediately froze eyes widening.
It was the same man from their childhood.
The same man who had given him and his brother more scars than all of their wars combined.
The creature that has terrorized them their entire existence.
The ghost who had haunted them their whole life.
Harry's scar began to burn and Draco saw how the two were being affected.
Alfred though was much worse.
He was to frightened even to move, even though his scar on his arm as burning so much Draco could hear the sizzle of the jacket catching.
The creature looked up and barred its fangs at them.
Draco screamed, abandoning the other two and ran with the lamp.
America was too frozen even to react and Harry was too focused on the stabbing in his head to even notice he left until the thing started to move closer.
First it went towards Harry, as if it knew him.
But then it stopped.
It saw Alfred, still as a statue and the same color as the stone used to build them.
The creature stared at him, head cocking to the side, as if trying to reason if he had seen the boy before.
The ghost like creature was about to reach out to Alfred before hoofs were heard and it backed away.
Something that looked of a combination of a horse and a man came galloping towards the ghost, freighting him off and sending him floating into the woods.
'Centaur' Harry thinks, 'that's what their called'.
America seemed to have calmed as soon as the ghost left.
He loosened his posture and resumed his normal tan.
"Harry Potter, Maska, you must leave. You are both known to many creatures here"
"Maska, well that's not a name I hear much anymore. I go by Alfred now."
"Maska?" Harry asked.
"Oh" Alfred chuckled, seemingly completely over the previous event. "It's my native American name. It means 'strong'".
"Makes sense considering your habit of punching through walls" Harry reasoned.
"Yeah, when I was little I would use trees as baseball bats".
"Any way" The Centaur continued. "Alfred, Harry. The forest is not safe at this time. Especially for you."
"What was that thing you saved me from" Harry asked.
"A monstrous creature." Then he pointed to the now dead body on the ground.
"It is a terrible crime to slay a unicorn. Drinking the blood of a unicorn will keep you alive even if you are in inch from death. But at a terrible price. You slayed something so pure. And from the moment the blood touched your lips, you will have a half life, a cursed life."
"Who could live such a way?" Alfred asked, praying the answer in his head was wrong.
"Can you think of no one?" The creature responded.
"You mean to say" Harry realized. "That the thing that killed the unicorn, that was drinking its blood, that was Voldemort."
It looks like Alfred's prayers went unanswered.
"Do you know what is hidden in the school at this very moment Mr. Potter?"
"The sorcerer's stone!" he gasped.
The creature then saw the lamp light approaching and scurried off.
"Off course Jones. Only you and Potter would be stupid enough not run."
Alfred was about to retort when he noticed something.
"Wait. Where's Mathew?" he asked, worry clear in his voice.
They all looked at him oddly and Harry responded "I haven't seen him."
"So he's alone!" he squeaked.
"Oh god calm down twit. He may be a coward, but I'm sure he could survive for ten minutes. Geesh I have more confidence in him than you do." Draco mocked.
"You don't get. It's not Mathew that I'm worried about!"
The others looked at him and raised an eyebrow.
Alfred gulped, eyes slightly glazed and said slowly.
"Mathew is alone. In an area with lots of wood and flammable objects. I have no doubt he has a lighter in his pocket. And he has recently been exposed to fire".
"So" Draco groaned. "Your point".
"Please tell me one of you knows a spell to put out fire."
Then the temperature started to rise.
Mathew had easily slipped away a few minutes before they came into the clearing.
He felt his lighters bounce against his hip playfully and felt absolutely giddy in excitement.
He had waited all day for this; the itch hadn't gone down since he had seen the dragon.
It was lit inside him and he needed to get it out.
He came along a dry patch of leaves and began his work.
He took out his favorite lighter (Red with white maple leaves of course) and lit the patch.
He stood watching as the fire took a life of its own.
It started to dance and twirl, like Mathew had always loved.
The Oranges, Reds and even flits of blue were flowing freely in the pile.
He didn't notice the three boys walk up behind him.
He did however look over when he heard a scream.
He saw his brothers face, contorted in pure terror.
He felt the heat coming off the fire that was now spreading from the leafs to the nearby trees.
It was all perfect.
Just like the days, he would never admit, might have just been the best of his life.
1814
Canada hesitated before lighting the fuse.
It was his brother after all; true a brother that had invaded him, but his twin none the less.
But all doubts went away the second the building lit.
He was mesmerized.
He watched the flames slowly creep up the wood walls, blackening all it touched.
The smell of smoke wafting through the air, reminding him barbecues his brother loves so much.
In a way, it described everything he wanted to destroy.
He saw from the corner of his eye, his brother knelled down crying.
America shivering away from Canada. Could see him.
For once in his entire life, Canada was the one being feared.
The one causing the terror, being seen as a force to be reckoned with.
He had burned his brother and it felt amazing.
The best part of all though was the heat.
He had never felt warmth like this before.
When you have a similar climate to Siberia, you tend to get used to the cold.
But at this moment, it was all melted away.
The thick sheet that seemed to always cover him, making him hidden from the world was gone.
He was glowing from the inside, like his brother was burning.
Eyes alight with fire just as bright as the one reducing his Brothers national treasure to ash.
It wasn't everything he despised; it was everything he wanted to be.
He was the one shining and burning and destroying, not America.
He was the one the soldiers were looking to in horror.
He was sure he had a grin bigger than Americas beloved New York.
He also guessed his aura would have sent Russia running for the hills.
He felt pure power flowing though him.
The fire, it was connecting to him.
He craved it, he needed it.
He watched as the once tall and mighty building crumbled to dust like the Roman Empire.
Fire was power, Canada deducted.
Now he craved power.
He didn't want the rush, the power, to leave him.
He didn't want the cold to come back; he wanted to keep the scorching heat to himself.
Never ever let it go.
He wanted to keep this feeling of superiority forever.
He was the one standing atop the ruins, no longer second fiddle.
'I will never let this go' he decided.
And that is how it started.
After the capital burning his need grew.
It started with just burning paper over a candle.
Paper turned to stacks.
Candles turned to lighter.
As the years went, the need got stronger and stronger.
Gradually he traded paper for sticks.
Then he traded sticks for logs.
Then one day in 1922, he finally broke.
He was traveling in Ontario and everything was going completely fine until he saw it.
He was in a little roadside dinner, when some grease spill in the back and fire erupted.
It was calmed down before it even turned on the sprinklers, but it was enough.
The light now in his eyes, and the itch back again.
He quickly paid for his food and drove out to the nearby forest, found a dry patch and lit it.
Then he found another and lit.
And lit, and lit, and lit. Until half the forest was burning.
From there he just stood and watched.
The fire quickly spread all around him and he stood in the center of the inferno, letting the fire melt his icy layer.
He stood head tuned up to the smoke filled sky.
The wind picking up, spreading it across the land.
He watched in paradisaical bliss everything touched turned black and barren.
He felt the power once again flow through his veins.
To most, they would have been devastated, if not already dead from thousand degree temperature.
But not the nation.
To him this was pure paradise.
He just stood for hours, looking from side to side watching the swirling hues until it finally died out.
Feeling tired, but at the same time rejuvenated, he drove back to his home in New Brunswick.
He was not expecting what he found when read his newspaper two days later.
"This disaster now being called the 'Great Fire', has led to the death of at least 43 people, including a large number of children. Towns have been destroyed and families now left without a home. Officials adv…"
Mathew slammed down the paper, not being able to read anymore.
He couldn't believe it
His innocent little hobby.
Okay scratch that.
His obsession, his need, his itch.
Had it really caused that much of a disaster?
He was the reason for all this destruction?
That day he swore never to let his need get out of hand again.
He started on a schedule burning small items and oils every few days.
It kept the need for more at bay.
Gave him just enough heat to melt the ice, without destroying the land around it.
It worked perfect… as long as he kept his schedule.
He had kept it the first few quarters of the school year at Hogwarts.
Every few nights, sneaking out and burning some piles out behind the school.
But for the past two weeks he hasn't been able to.
For the past two weeks he has not been able to melt the ice accumulating on him like snow.
Slow and persistent, but never ceasing to let him have a little weight off his shoulder.
Let him to be seen.
He needs to burn it off.
And now there is too much for just a little bonfire.
He needs an inferno.
And an inferno he'll get.
So as England always used to sing to them as they fell asleep, to protect them from evil.
"Bring on the fire, bring on the hell. Set everything ablaze so that no trace remains."
"Ah little brother, remind you of something"
Canada was now sporting a completely feral look.
Draco and Harry stared at him.
It was as if layers of ice had melted off the boy, and now he was glowing as bright as the fire surrounding him.
But not in a heavenly or good way.
More like the devil.
Canada took another step closer and America scooted another step back, now up against a thankfully not burning tree.
"Maybe it reminds you of one of the, what, three times maybe, I wasn't your second fiddle" Canada spat, venom laced in his words.
"The time where I had the power over you. When America the great and powerful, had fallen to sweet, innocent little Canada".
The bright red glare was now surrounding them and Draco and Harry stood, seemingly melted onto the spot they stood.
"Well who has the power now?"
"Don't you find it ironic that I, the nation of ice, colder than Russia, and for god's sake I own the North Pole for crying out loud! That I am the controller of fire".
"C-Canada, I-I'm sorry. I-I apologized as much as I could. Y-you're not my second fiddle, you're the other half of the continent."
"Oh" Canada growled. "I forgot, I'm your little hat, who just happens to be bigger than you. I'm the space above your land that is supposed to stop you from blowing up the rest of the world. Well what about me, eh! Ever bother to think about that? Of course not. I'm just the peace loving one. Well not anymore! Now it's my turn."
He turned back and gazed at his work.
Now the whole section of trees was up in flames and giving off unbearable heat.
The way he adores it.
He stood, basking it in the same way as during the Great Fire.
Then suddenly from behind him he heard a shout.
"Extinguensho!"
Next thing he knew, the trees stopped burning and the power was gone.
With the sudden loss of heat, Canada fell down.
He held his now spinning head in hands on the ground.
His glow began to diminish and he went back to his icy appearance.
It wasn't until now that everyone realized how cold Mathew was to touch.
After the shock wore off from Canada, he looked up at the shocked two faces staring at him, and burst into tears.
Knowing what would happen, America rushed over to him.
"It's ok; no one got hurt this time."
'This time?' they thought, 'there were others'?
"I'm s-sorry" he squeaked out.
"Its fine, I'm sure everyone forgives you."
Mathew looked up at America.
"Now Can' I want you to be honest here"
Canada nodded.
"Have you been doing your… routine the past few weeks?"
Canada looked down shook his head.
"Well that's why. Look you can't forget or this happens. Promise me you'll stick to the schedule better okay. We got lucky; this could have been Ontario all over again".
Alfred hooked his arm around Mathew shoulders and hoisted him up.
Once Canada got his footing he gave him his jacket to put over his parka.
He knew Canada needed heat at a moment like this.
Like he needed the cold in 1814.
He knew about Canada's problem, and had been helping him since the Great Fire.
He took two weeks off.
Lesson learned.
The two hobbled over to where Harry and Malfoy were standing.
"So your brothers a Pyromaniac" Scoffed Draco. "I knew you two were off somehow".
Alfred glared and bared his teeth.
"You know, I have just as many problems as him, and mine tend to get more violent".
'What's more violent than that?' thought Harry, but he was smart enough not to say it.
"So if you want to wake up in the morning, I highly suggest you keep you crooked mouth shut."
Seeing the fact that Alfred's blue eyes tinted red, Draco did shut his mouth.
Hagrid, Hermione and Ron came running up to them.
When they reached them, they saw the blackened trees and Mathew tear soaked face.
"Harry, Mathew, Alfred!" Hermione shouted.
'Now I see how Violet eyed twit feels', groaned Draco in his head.
"That's his work I'm guessing" Hagrid said pointing to Mathew then the piles of ash that had once been trees.
Canada nodded shamefully.
"Knew it the instant he saw Norbert. Don't worry kid, I'm not mad."
"Sorry he missed his cycle, usual he has smaller burnings to stop this from happening, but he missed the past two weeks. It's my fault I should have made him go." Alfred apologized.
"Well at least no one got hurt, if you had let me know before I would have let you use my fire pit. I used to have similar problems before I worked here."
"You did!" gasped Ron.
He never would have picked Hagrid for a pyromaniac.
Then again, he didn't Mathew either.
It's always the quiet ones.
Mathew smiled and nodded a thank you and they all started to walk back forward.
Soon Hermione, Ron, Hagrid and Canada were walking a good 50 yards ahead of the three bickering boys.
"Harry was right; you really shouldn't have mentioned fire. If you hadn't he would have been burning a pile of paper, not a forest!" Alfred told Draco.
"Well how was I supposed to know your brother is a pyro…" he started, but cut himself off when he saw Alfred hair go another shade darker"…Fire challenged. You were the one running from it. What are you afraid of a little fire?"
"I grew up with him for a brother. I got burned countless times thanks to it. Once almost to death! What do you think, of course I am; any sane person who has lived through what I have would be wary of it."
"Um Alfred" Harry interrupted. "You said you have just as many problems as he does. Does that mean that there more? And what exactly do you have?"
"Yes there is more for both of us. If you had seen what our family has been through you'd understand. But no, I will not tell you what it is, because he, or maybe even you guys, as much as we trust you" Alfred said "would just use it against us".
"He has a good point" Draco admitted. "Although I already have so much on you two, one more to add to the list would be nothing."
Suddenly Draco felt himself being hoisted by his collar and slammed up against the trunk of a tree.
Again…this had been happening a lot more lately.
"What do you know?" Alfred shouted at him.
America didn't show it but he was terrified.
If anyone knew that they were countries they would be hauled away for experiments, and even if the president got them out, the whole world would know of the personifications.
He thought terrorist were bad enough, but if they knew about him, it would basically guarantee that anytime there is any conflict, the personification would be held up in a cellar by their bosses, or kidnapped by the enemy's.
Meanwhile Draco gulped and couldn't help that this situation was strikingly familiar to one in a potions classroom.
At least until he looked Alfred in his now almost completely red eyes.
He saw anger, yes a lot of anger. But there was something else.
Something Draco was an expert in exploiting.
Fear.
"Why? Are you scared? Of course I know your secret. It wasn't even that hard to find out" he bluffed, though know knowing that there is definitely something big he hadn't uncovered yet.
America gulped and his grip slightly weakened, before he tightened it even more.
'Damnit, I really don't want to have to kill him. Even though he is annoying, stalking me and my brother, I cant kill a civilian!' America thought.
Alfred examined his face, looking for any sign that he was bluffing.
And thankfully he did, otherwise he would have had a new pair of snake skin boots.
America suddenly dropped him and loomed over him.
"I think you're lying. I better be right or the chances or you and most of your family waking up in the morning are very, very, limited."
Draco, knowing when you find a well to exploit it completely, said.
"You're right. I don't know what you are freaking out over about now. But I do have a notebook full of very interesting findings back in my dorm."
"For example" he said pulling out a glowing blue container of liquid.
Alfred stomped over and grabbed it.
Mathew, who had fallen out of pace with the others when he had to tie his shoe, looked back and saw the bottle and ran over.
"How did you get this?!" screamed Alfred.
"Just a little digging" Draco answered.
"Oh god, I need some now I think" Alfred said, taking a swig from the small bottle, emptying it completely.
Instantly he relaxed and took a deep breath.
Mathew, who had stopped panting from running walked over to Malfoy.
"Are you kidding me? How much of an idiot do you have to be to do that? You know he could have killed somebody if Arthur hadn't brought more, right? Killed Somebody! The best part was he wouldn't have even known; he would just wake up the next day as if nothing ever happened. And none of us would know. You are an idiot!"
Harry was mentally taking note of every word being said.
'I thought I had a rough childhood' he thought. 'At least I didn't get any mental issues out of mine'.
Draco just sat there, triumphant smile on his face.
"Oh, so he could have killed someone. How do you know? Has it happened before?"
"That's irrelevant, but no!" Mathew answered. "We stopped him every time and since he started taking the medicine and it hasn't happened again".
'Another note to self' Harry thought, 'do not take blue liquid from Alfred or I might wake up dead… if someone could wake up dead, oh never mind'.
"Hey, this taste like lilacs" Alfred slurred, head swinging drowsily.
The four looked over at him and Mathew sighed "Side effects" and walked over.
"Yes Alfred, it does taste like lilacs, now let's go home, eh".
And Mathew led him to catch up to the others.
Harry and Draco looked at each other.
"You stole his medicine. Really Malfoy that's a new low, even for you."
"Well I just wanted to know what it was." Draco retorted.
"So what was it anyway?" Harry asked.
"I don't know, I had some test run on it and no one could recognize it. All the ingredients however are able to be found in North America and are stables of it. Oak wood, greenfish, apples, Maple. Those sort of things."
Harry nodded and then realized something.
"Wait, did you say you're keeping a journal about them?"
"Yeah" Draco retorted. "Aren't you? I know you only became friends with them to investigate them."
Harry wanted to deny it, but even he knew it was true, so he and Draco just trudged along to catch up to the others.
When they arrived back at the dorms, the twins bid the trio a goodnight and went up to their room.
America gave Canada all his blankets, knowing full and well that tonight he needed the heat.
Also he really didn't want them.
Tonight he needed the cold.
Down stairs in the common room the trio was talking.
"You mean, you-know-who is out there right now in the forest!" Hermione gaped.
"Yes but he's weak. He's living off of unicorns. Don't you see, we had it wrong! Snape doesn't want the stone for himself; he wants the stone for Voldemort. With the elixir of life Voldemort will be strong again. He'll come back."
"But isn't the stone useless without the 'Life Force of North America'" Hermione added.
"I think he knows what it is" answered Harry, "and knows how to get it".
"But Harry, if he comes back do you think he will… kill you".
"I think I'm his second priority. In the forest tonight he was coming towards me but stopped as soon as he saw Alfred. I think Voldemort has attacked the twins before and that's how they got the scars."
"That would explain why 'Lightning Alley' doesn't even exist except as a road in Florida" Hermione pointed out. "And maybe explain why he froze up like you said when he saw him".
"But what about Mathew?" Ron added.
"We just discovered a new host of mysteries about him. He was the last person on earth I would ever peg as a pyromaniac."
"Did I tell you what he was shouting at Alfred while he was burning the forest" Harry asked.
The other two shook their heads.
Harry quoted every sentence that came out of Mathew and Alfred's mouths, word for word.
"These two are even stranger than I originally thought, and that's saying something" Hermione resounded.
"Also" Ron added, "What was the medicine the blue liquid for? If he has just as many problems as Mathew it could be anything. You also said he started to slur while he walked, maybe he has alcohol addiction".
"It wouldn't have worked so fast" Answered Hermione.
Harry nodded. "Right and Malfoy said he had it checked and there is nothing similar on the Market. The only thing he found was the ingredients were all staples of North America".
The other two just shrugged.
"All that tells us is where it was made".
"Why don't we just ask?" suggested Hermione.
"In worst case, they lie to us, and I'll cast a spell that will let us spot liars. Just if they do lie, don't tell them we know, otherwise they'll know we used the spell and they'll think we don't trust them. They already trust us more, like Harry said, but we don't want to lose all that progress at once."
"Okay, so tomorrow before breakfast, come earlier and Hermione will cast the spell" said Harry.
"What do we do if they are lying" asked Ron.
"We take investigation into our own hands… Just without them knowing."
"And to think" Ron said, "I've been worrying about my potions final".