"What?! You're going to be away for three quarters of the year?!"

"Germany, it'll only be when classes are in session. Weekends and holidays I can check in and handle any government work, but this is important too." England sighed as the tall German fumed. He should've just sent him and the others letters about his upcoming absence, it would've saved him this earful.

"That still doesn't change the fact that you'll be away."

"Scotland has agreed to handle representing me at meetings and doing any paperwork that doesn't specifically need my approval. I've also been given the okay from both the muggle and magical sides of my government, everything is in order."

"Oui, when he sets his mind to something, even I can't deny that Angleterre doesn't procrastinate." France commented. "Besides, it's not like we get anything done at these meetings."

"Now hold on-!" Germany turned his attention to the Frenchman.

As much as England hated to agree with France, he wasn't wrong. In truth, their bosses usually left the personifications in meeting halls and rooms while they themselves focused on issues and tried to resolve them. The personifications meanwhile would talk and debate but ultimately get nothing done. Of course. Some like Germany tried to, but others like America would come up with ideas that were too childish or bad to actually work.

"Yo, Iggy!"

Speak of the Devil and he shall come.

"Yes America, what is it?"

"I heard you were getting a real job. What, did you get bored of playing with your imaginary friends?"

"I'm doing this as a favor to an old friend, and what do you mean by that? They aren't imaginary, you could see them too."

"Yeah, when I was a kid, that's why they're imaginary."

"Listen here, just because you're too dense to actually believe in magic doesn't mean that the things you saw were made up!"

"Yeah, right, and like I'm supposed to believe that stereotypical 'magic wand' you carry around actually casts spells?"

"It is real!"

Okay, maybe it was time to get a new wand. Not that there was anything wrong with his old one of course! And not that he agreed with that stupid Alfred that it was almost too ridiculous looking to be real! But since he had a feeling he would be using a wand to cast spells in front of humans, perhaps it would be better to not stand out as much.

With this in mind, he made his way to Diagon Alley and straight to Olivander's shop.

The old wandmaker seemed almost surprised as he laid eyes on the man standing in the doorway. "…Mr. Kirkland, a pleasure it always is to have you in my shop. Tell me, is there anything I can do for you? Your appointment for regular maintenance on your antique wand isn't for at least another two years."

Arthur grimaced at the word 'antique'. Sure, his wand was old, but it was still just as good as the day he'd first gotten it. Of course, he knew the man didn't mean any harm by it, Olivander was one of the few who knew his secret; there was no way he could excuse away how he never aged to the only wizarding family in the country that crafted and repaired wands, and he couldn't risk his wand breaking with no way to repair it, he didn't have the skillset needed. "No maintenance today. I'm actually here for a new wand, one to use as backup."

"Oh? Any reason in particular?"

"Well I've recently been appointed as temporary History of Magic Professor at Hogwarts, and I figured it would be handy to have."

"Just that? And not because of the abnormally large star on the end of it?"

"…Is it that obvious?"

"Mr. Kirkland, if I may, your wand is remarkable, possibly the oldest one still in use, but it is outdated look-wise. The last time I showed a child a wand from that era, she immediately made fun of it."

He groaned, "Yes, that is the reason. I'd never usually admit this to anyone, but America may have made a few comments that made me even more self-conscious about my appearance. I decided it would be best to have to keep a low profile too while I'm teaching."

"Your secret's safe with me, but didn't you have one of my ancestors create wands for America and Canada?"

"I gave Canada's to France when he won that stupid seven year's war, no clue if he actually gave it to him. As for America, he doesn't believe in magic so unless he starts showing more magical prowess than talking to animals or giving himself bursts of speed when excited, a wand would be wasted on him."

"I see… well, in any case, let's get you fitted, shall we?"

It took a few tries, most wands were usually picky when it came to those like him unless they had been made specifically for them, but eventually England managed to find a wand that accepted him as it's user. A wand made of elm, ten inches, stiff, and made with a rare thestral tail hair as its core.

"It's rare, but a small number of wands made by my ancestors used this type of core. But they tend to be extremely picky so they stopped using them in the wands we sell." Olivander explained as Arthur handed him the necessary payment.

"Well then, I'll be sure to take extra good care of it."

With that, the two men said their goodbyes, and Arthur exited the shop. As he made his way back toward the Leaky Cauldron, he noticed a man putting up wanted posters. Inching closer to get a better look, Arthur noticed others had the same idea. Those close enough to see first let out sounds of terror and shock.

"No way…"

"How? From Azkaban?"

"There must be some mistake."

"How did he get past the dementors?"

"He killed all of those people, there's no way security around him could've been lax, even after all of this time, right?"

"Perhaps we should go home now."

Arthur finally managed to push past the crowd to see what the fuss was about. He felt the sensation of a chill run up his spine as he caught sight of moving portrait of a man, holding up his prison number sign as he screamed silently at people who were probably around him when this image was taken. He looked almost mad, psychotic even.

Sirius Black, convicted mass murderer and follower of Lord Voldemort, had escaped Azkaban Prison.

A/N: Yeah, my only excuse for this gap between chapters is that I've been busy, learned I was allergic to a specific cough medicine, and learned I have ulcerative colitis after way too many lab tests and colonoscopies than I would like to recount (but hey, we've finally uncovered one of the reasons I keep feeling unwell and the medication seems to be working so far).

Thanks to everyone who has waited patiently, as well as to those who messaged me privately to check in and make sure I wasn't dead. It actually means a lot to know you guys are willing to wait for new chapters to this story even if my health problems makes it difficult to keep a consistent upload schedule.

I've been slowly writing this chapter for the last four months, mainly when I have the energy after work, and I finally got it to a state where I feel happy with it. It's mainly to fill in the gap between books and to get Arthur ready to actually begin teaching at Hogwarts in terms of his duties as a personification of a country and his wand.