How art nations f'rmed? Doth theie pope out of the earth liketh daisies in springeth, 'r art the f'rm'r humans? Art theie divineth beings from heaven?

'tis unc'rtain what the answ'r is. Nations, acc'rding to the ones who is't w'reth talketh'd to, doth naught knoweth themselves. Theie simplie accepteth their existenceth f'r what 'tis and doth naught questioneth 't. Someth oneth consid'r yond lazie and someth wouldst consid'r yond braveth. Nay oneth is sureth of whith'r the nations cometh from, onlie yond m're art madeth o''r timeth.

Theie bleedeth liketh humans, but so longeth as their is a pieceth of those folk, theie shalt cometh backeth. 't hath been proven onlie nations canst slaie oth'r nations, and most art loath to in the first placeth. P'radventure those gents'reth m're human than weth art.

-Excerpt from Mysterious and Inexplicable Madnesses, written by Unknown. Published, 1531

-0-

"No matter how long it took me to cross the Atlantic or travel to India, I still can't find myself happy with how long I was flying for."

Alice rolled her eyes and swallowed a mouthful of tea. "Arthur, you're just a big baby. We're all waiting for you at Jett's home, and what are you doing?"

"Don't even try that on me. I am too tired to care about the people waiting." His voice crackled through the handset, slightly distorted, but she could pick up on more than enough sass.

"That'll be enough out of you. You may be the older of us two, but I'm the one who remains logical when tired. Call a cab and arrive within the next hour. Otherwise, we're leaving without you again."

She was glad that Jane and Jett lent her one of the guest rooms to chat privately in. From how childish Arthur was acting, all their respect for her brother would be lost. It wasn't his fault that he was intolerable and incorrigible when tired or drunk.

"Nooooooooooo..." He groaned. "An hour and a half."

She shook her head. "You will arrive in less than an hour. That's final." She ended the call before he could object, gently placing the handset on the receiver. She exhaled, watching the micronations gather in a circle on the grass.

They looked just like the colonies, young and full of energy. That was a period in her life that she wouldn't go back to for a while, but looking back at the good moments, like the picnics or trips to the local towns for food supplies, her heart ached. She wouldn't repeat that time, no, the suffering world-wide was too great, so she'd just have to enjoy the memories that were worth being fondly remembered.

She sipped her tea daintily and just watched the kids talk. It was considered an old lady sport nowadays, but internally, she was an old lady. She just sat there, draining her cup with periodic sips and watching their antics. Occasionally, she heard footsteps of people walking through the hallway behind her, but she was never bothered. Alice preferred it that way.

She sat there until a cab pulled into her line of sight. Had it already been a whole hour?

She checked her wristwatch, and indeed, it had. Odd, how fast time could pass.

Alice gathered up her cup and saucer, taking them down to the kitchen and waiting at the front door to greet her brother. The micronations chased after the cab, yelling things only they understood. Jett joined her side and waited beside her for the cab to stop. Amelia, Matthew, and Jane were nowhere in sight.

"Good, he finally decided to show his face." Jett grinned. "The old codger's gotta come visit us sometimes. You get lonely when the only regular visitor is Zea."

A head of messy dishwater-blonde hair poked out as the cab door opened. "I heard that. Don't think I can't tell when you're bad mouthing me, Jacob Alexander."

Jett rolled his eyes. "It's been Jett for the past few decades, Art. Get with the times!"

Leslie played with her hair. "Your name was Jacob?"

"Yes, it was." Alice affirmed. "But that was a while ago. He's his own nation now, and Jett's allowed to choose his own name." She shot a look at her brother, who mumbled something tiredly and ignored her.

"I wanna be named Mud! Jett, can my name be Mud now?"

Arthur paid the cab driver and watched them leave. "Let's end the conversation there. I'm bloody tired and I don't want to talk about jets and mud."

Bumbunga popped her head out from a window. "Uncle Arthur is no fun!"

"Meanie!"

"Uncle Artie's a poop-head!"

The children echoed off of each other, creating a resonating cacophony that made it impossible to focus. Alice escorted her brother inside as Jett rounded up the rowdy children, scolding them for being so rude(or complimenting them for being little buggers. She wasn't sure.) Setting a quick pot of tea up, Alice ran through the events of the past days in an efficient manner as her brother tried to stay awake.

"Amelia and Matthew have both agreed, and it seems like Jett will as well."

Arthur rubbed his eyes and mumbled something as he sipped his coffee. Alice waited patiently for him to speak properly, watching the children outside in the meanwhile. There really was something fascinating about their energy.

"...That'd make four, right? So we would have one in each house?"

She patted him on the back. "Yes."

"Mm, good." He grumbled, effectively ending the conversation. The two siblings just sat in the silence as they had only a few nights ago. Only the time and location was different.

Speaking of time, they would need Australia to make his decision swiftly. The flight would be leaving relatively soon, and he would need to pack up a small suitcase of supplies. Right then, it would be up to her to rally. She stood, leaving her brother to recover a bit, and walked out to the front garden.

"Jett, are you coming or not? The plane is leaving within the next two hours." She had no time or patience to dawdle in making her point. Her cousin was swinging one of the micronations by the arms in big circles when she came out, and only until she finished her statement did he set the girl down.

He said something in the girl's ear, which made her sprint away and left the two of them relatively alone. "Look, I would love to take a break, but between caring for Lu and the country and the micros, I don't thin-"

"What about Ngarra or the uh, other one? Kiera?"

"Kirra. They take care of the bush and such. I'm not gonna ask them to suddenly take over for me and watch over Melbourne and Sydney and the like."

Jane's voice came from behind Jett. "Then you're gonna have to ask me."

He turned to his sister. "Which I'm not going to do, especially not for a whole year. Janie, you have enough on your plate."

"I don't think you understand." Jane countered. "I'm not asking you if you should go with Alice, I'm telling you. Get out and have some fun."

Jett's face scrunched up in confusion. "But what abou-"

"I can handle it. If need be, I can ask Zea to babysit the micros for a bit. Besides, it'll be great. You get to travel off to rainy England for a year and I get to try managing the country on my own. If you can do it and still have time to care for Stevie, then I can too." Jane shoved a duffel bag in his arms. "Plus, you're already packed."

Alice watched the exchange with interest. Jane almost never told Jett what to do directly, instead going for dry remarks and sarcastic humor, a great contrast to his own juvenile comedy. She was all for Jane telling him to go, and proud of her cousin for picking up whatever sense of urgency Alice laid down.

Still, Australia as a country was a bit strange. Alice had only seen the other two representatives once or twice before in her life, and usually it was brief and wordless. To her, it seemed like Jett and Jane were taking care of the whole country themselves, which wasn't impossible, but for a fully fledged nation, it was certainly difficult. And to leave everything just to Jane...could she handle it? The weight four people were supposed to bear on one's shoulders?

The determination and passion blazing in Jane's eyes answered her question. "Indeed. It seems your mind is already made up then, is it not?"

Jett glanced between the both of them, a smile growing on his face. "You two would be terrifying if you worked together on everything."

"That's a yes then?" Jane's smile mirrored his own.

"You bet it is. Thanks Janie. I'll repay you." He hugged her like he hugged everyone-that is to say, by squeezing the air out of your lungs.

She hugged him back. "Your payment is that you write to me as often as possible. I don't want to be kept out of the loop, alright?"

"Alright."

Jett turned and faced Alice with an expression so excited it looked like it belonged on a child's face during Christmas. "What are we waiting for?"

-0-

The flight to London was anything but fun. England already had a dreadful headache and horrible case of jet lag, but Alice decided to pile on another unbearably long flight for the sake of efficiency. Amelia chatted loudly with any and every neighbor surrounding her, not at all put off by the whispers of "annoying" and "loudmouth" that he was certain she'd heard.

Matthew and Jett had the issue of whether planes would allow small, possibly dangerous animals onto the place, so even though the usual tasteless tact of bribery and persuasion worked, it still held them up for a while at security. Thankfully, neither of the bears caused any sort of ruckus, but still, it was nerve racking.

England didn't have much to remark about the quality of the flight or airline, especially since he spent the majority of the trip trying to catch up on lost sleep.

A proper nap was in order before he made any trip to Hogwarts, that was certain.

-0-

Ah, England. Home of constant rain, depression, and really ugly old buildings. Amelia could already feel the stiff, starched collars and tight leather shoes she had to wear when she was little, and she hated it.

"Hey bro, mind holding my suitcase? I'm gonna take off my jacket real quick." She nudged Matthew with her elbow. They were standing outside the airport waiting to be picked up by Ollie, and the combined efforts of her childhood memories of uncomfortable clothing and the heat summer brought forced Amelia out of her retro jacket earlier than usual.

Matthew shifted Kumajiro to sit on his hip and held her suitcase upright obligingly. "Its not even that hot. This is what, winter for the south?"

"Oh, shut it. You wish your summers get this hot, frosty." She tied her jacket around her waist. "That's better. Anyways, thanks bud."

"I'm older than you."

She chuckled. "Sure you are. Anyways, doesn't include mentally."

"Will you two please stop? Your bickering is insufferable." Arthur groaned, practically hanging off of Alice. He looked worse than when he was hungover from that one drinking contest with Latvia.

A retort came to mind. "So is your attitude. But we can't get rid of that, can we?" Arthur's reaction was worth every word.

It was clear from the look on Jett's face that he was enjoying the witty banter. On the other hand, Steve the Koala looked ready to tear someone's larynx out.

Not today, buckaroo. If anyone was gonna be tearing out larynxes, it'd be Ollie.

Speak of the devil, the strawberry blonde was in sight. His pastel blue van pulled up to the curb and parked so perfectly that performers would be jealous.

"Good morning loves! How were the flights?"

Arthur stumbled into the backseat wordlessly and passed out almost instantly. Alice sat in the passenger seat, her reply to soft for Amelia to pick up.

"I feel great, thanks." She said. In truth, she wanted to be at home watching crappy morning news and drinking coffee, but she had to uphold her end of the deal. Think about Brady.

She climbed in and sat next to the snoozing old codger. Matt and Jett got the middle aisle, which was great because their bears got along just fine. "I'm doin' great, thanks."

"I'm good." Matthew whispered last. Amelia rolled her eyes. the more nations present, the quieter he got. He always complained about not being noticed, but it was his fault in the first place.

What a dumb ass.

The ride was boring, but that didn't mean that Amelia wasn't on guard. She, along with everyone else in the car, was fully aware of what Ollie could do if his impulses said to. Falling asleep in the car was probably the worst choice Arthur could make, but then again, he'd been dealing with Ollie since the beginning.

Meanwhile, Alice took the ride as a chance to fully debrief everything.

"Today, we will be departing for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry at precisely 3 PM. Until then, Arthur and I will be performing several magical spells to ensure this mission is kept secret. Meaning, we will be changing the memories of every nation to believe that if you currently are a figurehead, they will believe you never were. For Matthew, they will believe it was always James. For Jett, they'll think it was Jane. And for Amelia, since you're incredibly loud, we will make them believe it was Ashlyn."

Amelia blinked. "You know Ash is like, the complete opposite of me, right?"

"We will be convincing Ashlyn herself that she acts like you."

A silent "Holy shit" passed through the car.

"You can do that?" Matthew asked.

Hell, if time travel was possible, why wouldn't forced memory loss? Or rather, forced changed memories? Either way, it was possible, at least from what Amelia had experienced.

Ollie laughed creepily(actually, it was his normal laugh, but it always sounded creepy). "They can do a lot of things that would be considered...unethical. There's a reason I never had access to magic."

The van was quiet for a while after that. No one dared speak until Alice continued. There really was no way to properly react to that.

"As I was saying, yes, it is possible. Once that is done and your viewed importance in the world goes down significantly, we will be properly arranging it so you look like children. Olivia isn't here currently, but she will join the three of you as you become children. You will be expected to act like a 12 year old child for a full school year."

"That shouldn't be a problem, seeing as I live with plenty of kids around that age range." Australia nodded, stroking Steve's fur.

"Precisely. Then, during the train ride, you will be taught proper wizard lingo. The three of you will be going as muggle-borns, meaning that you grew up around people who are not gifted with magic. That will be a perfect cover for why you wouldn't understand certain things or would react to events like an outsider. Olivia, since she has seen us perform magic several times, will be a half-blood, meaning she has one magical parent. She still may not understand everything wizardly, but a lot more than you three."

Matthew glanced at Amelia. "Um, so, why us three specifically? Sorry to interrupt."

"Mm? Oh yes, I do need to get to that. Hogwarts has four "houses", each of which represents a certain variety of personality traits. Upon coming to Hogwarts for the first time, children are sorted into the house who they have the strongest personality traits of. Until they graduate, they will sleep in the same dormitories as their housemates, take the same classes as them, and participate in team events with them."

"So they're like fraternities and sororities in a way?" Amelia asked. She understood what Alice was getting at, but still, she wanted a comparison.

"...I'll say a tentative yes. You will understand once we are there. As you will see, the four houses are as follows: Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. Jett, you were chosen to go into the Gryffindor house, which embodies the traits bravery, loyalty, courageousness, adventurousness, being daring, and chivalry. When you are sorted, you ask for Gryffindor if possible."

"Right-o. Sounds like a plan to me."

"Next, we have Ravenclaw. Initially, we had selected Amelia, but upon further consideration, it was clear that Matthew was made for it. Ravenclaws prioritize wisdom, intelligence, creativity, cleverness, and knowledge. They often seek for a more logical and safe approach to situations than charging head first."

Matthew smiled gently. "That does sound like me."

"We thought so. We selected Olivia for Hufflepuff, which is a house that prides itself over valuing hard work, dedication, fair play, patience, and loyalty. Hufflepuffs are generally the most amiable of the houses. And lastly, we have Amelia for Slytherin."

"I've always liked snakes. Like there was this one really cool black rattlesnake I saw in Arizona-" Amelia was cut off by a disapproving look from Alice. "Sorry. Continue."

"Slytherin cares about being cunning, prideful, resourceful, ambitious, intelligent, and determined. Slytherins love to be in charge and crave leadership, and often will do whatever is needed to succeed. Amelia, your ambition alone would've landed you in Slytherin, but combined with your pride, determination, and intelligence, this house was practically made for you."

Amelia mulled it over. "Yep, it does. Al wouldn't belong in Slytherin, he sounds more like one of those Griffin peeps, but yeah, I'm made for it."

Ollie nudged Alice. "Don't forget to talk about the reputation it has~!" He sung a bit too gleefully.

"I was getting to that. Amelia, while the rest of the houses are regarded as perfectly reasonable houses to be a part of, Slytherins are viewed often time to be the least desirable of the houses unless you are a legacy or devoted to, well, evil deeds. There is a myth that has been around for centuries that all wizard evil-doers are from Slytherin."

She knew there had to be a catch. But being part of group that had a reputation for being evil wasn't the worst. She'd just prove everyone wrong and get rid of that stupid rumor. "I'm cool with that. I like challenges."

Alice nodded. "Ambitious indeed. Now, please, make yourselves comfortable in our home for the time being, just don't go into the basement unless myself or Arthur gives explicit instruction to do so."

Amelia wondered why she switched topics so suddenly, only realizing a moment later that it was because the ride was over. She looked over at her sleeping cousin and poked him until he woke up. "Good morning sleepy head. You're home."

He shooed her away with his hand and closed his eyes. Welp, she tried. Amelia couldn't be blamed for when Oliver tried waking him up again but with spiders.

She climbed out of the van and stretched. What to do?

The answer was obvious.

Find out more about this wizarding world. If she was going in, she was going in deep.

-0-

As Arthur was roused from his sleep and forced to help Alice with magical shenanigans in the basement, Jett, Olivia, Ollie, Matthew and Amelia played Tripoley. A board was made from an old square of fabric and a black marker, and pennies were substituted for poker chips.

Three rounds in and Australia had not won a single penny back. All of the players had at least collected from having a heart face card or winning poker, but not him. He anted nine coins for the next round and took a peek at his cards. Three 6's, a pair of 8's, one four, a pair of kings, and one queen. He could make a full house! He pulled out his sixes and kings and waited for the poker round to begin.

Amelia began with two chips in the pot. Australia saw her two. Matthew folded. Olivia saw Amelia's two and raised her two more, so Ollie folded. Amelia and Australia both saw Olivia's raise.

"Show your cards." Ollie commanded.

Australia laid out his own hand and looked at the other two hands shown. Amelia had a straight nine high, and

...

Goddammit.

Olivia had a four of a kind.

As the pinkette realized she'd won, a bright childish smile appeared. "I won!" She scooped the pot into her own collection cheerily.

Right, he could still win. He put his poker hand back into his original hand and readied himself for Michigan Rummy. The winner of poker was the first to go, so he watched Olivia with careful eyes.

She laid down a 3 of Spades, and in turn he laid down his 4 of Spades. If anyone had the 5 and 7, he'd be able to lay down his 6 and then 8. He doubted it'd get to his King of Spades.

He waited for anyone to lay down the 5. No one did.

"5 of Spades? Anyone?"

Matthew glanced at his own hand. "I think it was in the dummy hand."

Dang it. It was alright, he still could win. This was a good hand, he felt it. Plus, he was in control. The lowest card in his hand was the 6 of Spades, but he couldn't play the same suit. So 6 of Clubs it was.

Amelia laid down the 7 and 8. Ollie did the 9. Matthew had the 10 and Jack.

It stopped again, this time at the Queen with Matthew in control. He laid down a two of Diamonds, and Olivia slapped down her 3. Yet again, no one put down the 4. Olivia laid down the 3, 4, and 5 of Clubs, smirking at the fact that she a), had three cards left, and b), was still in control since the 6 of Clubs was already played.

"Let's open the floodgates, shall we?"

She placed down the 3 of Hearts.

Ollie had the 4, Matthew had the 5, Australia had the 6, and Ollie had the 7. It stopped at 8, and so Ollie went on to put down a 2 of Spades. The 3 was already played, and because of that Ollie played the 10 of Hearts and collected the money from the spot on the board.

Finally, if this went without a hitch, Australia would be able to at least collect money from three of the pots.

Matthew laid down the Jack of Hearts and collected, and swiftly, Australia followed with both the Queen and King, collecting the money from each individual pot and the Marriage. Ollie ended the suit with his Ace, and started up again with the 7 of Spades.

Australia glanced at Amelia, who was fuming. She hadn't been able to place down a card in a while. He empathized with her, having been in that position only a few minutes ago, but that didn't mean he was gonna stop playing to win.

He put down the 8 and watched for whoever had the 9. He only had four cards left.

Amelia out down the 9, and it was clear she was just relieved to get rid of any cards at all. But then, Olivia came out of nowhere and played the 10. Damn, she only had one more card.

"Anyone have the Jack?" She asked coyly.

No one said anything. Fuck, she was going to win.

Amelia played her last card, the 7 of Diamonds.

"I'll take the Kitty, thank you, and remember, you must pay me for every card you have left~!" She smiled.

Australia rolled his eyes and scooped four coins out of his pile and handed it over to her. No one was paying an incredibly high amount, but still, four cards left stung.

"How do you do it?" He asked out of the blue. "Get close to winning or actually succeeding every time, I mean."

Olivia pointed to herself. "Me? Oh, uh, it's mostly just luck."

Amelia shook her head and slid her payment across the table to Olivia. "That's bullshit. It's numbers and careful calculation. You played well, so don't go around saying your strategy was all luck."

"I dunno, compared to your utter flop of a strategy, it may as well be." Olivia shot her a feline grin, daring the American to fight with her.

"You bitch-"

Ollie tutted his tongue as he stood up and walked off to the kitchen. "I'm afraid that if you are to insist on fighting, you must do it outside."

Good grief, he forgot how bad they acted around each other sometimes. Well, he didn't forget completely. The memory of James and Amelia pushing him into a frozen lake was still perfectly clear in his mind.

He watched as Amelia dragged Olivia outside so that she could roughhouse without angering Ollie. Matthew followed his gaze.

"They never stop fighting, eh?"

Australia whistled for Steve. "Nope. I'm just surprised you haven't learned to block it out by now mate. Isn't it annoying?"

Matthew shrugged, collecting the cards on the table and shuffling them into a newly-arranged deck. "I guess. I usually just let them walk away and stay out of the splash zone."

"Scones?" Ollie walked back in, carrying a plate.

"Did you make or tamper with them?" Australia narrowed his eyes.

"Maybe."

"No thank you, then. I'm not very hungry." Matthew repeated nearly the same sentence.

Ollie paid their rejection no attention and went on his merry ol' way to terrorize children or knit explosives into sweaters. Honestly, Australia's guess was as good as any when it came to what Ollie did in his free time.

The room fell silent as the two half-brothers sat in silence. Amelia and Olivia's screams were muffled by the window as the whirl of blonde hair and pink fabric rolled around on the grass with the ferocity of hormonal teenage girls. Australia stared at the mass for just a moment before tearing his eyes away. They'd be fine.

"So, Ravenclaw. Putting aside Ally's assessment, which "house" do you think you belong in?" He did air-quotes around "house" for emphasis. They were more like personality groups than teams.

Matthew stroked his polar bear thoughtfully. "Ravenclaw sounds accurate, but so does Hufflepuff. I like to think of myself as friendly and fair. You?"

"Gryffindor all the way. Ally was right on the nose about me. Guess you could put me in Slytherin, but Amy beats me out of there with her sheer ambition."

Matthew laughed. It was soft and gentle, like a summer breeze blowing off of the ocean. "Have you heard about the time Amelia tried to out-run a train?"

Steve walked into the room and climbed up into Australia's arms. "No, but please," He smiled and tried his best to imitate Arthur's accent. "Enlighten me."

For the next few hours, the two of them exchanged stories of themselves, their siblings, or just funny things they'd seen. From Amelia attempting to out run a train to Bruce trying to swallow Poland's horse whole, the stories ranged from concerning to impossible.

"Mate, you're telling me that ol' Milen turns into a Yogurt Fairy? What the hell is a Yogurt Fairy?"

Canada shrugged. "I'm the wrong person to ask. I heard it from lil' Aurel when he was with Ivan at the last conference. I think the kid's planning on escaping Russia's house pretty soon, by the way. At least from the way he's been talking." The northern country stared out the window.

Quietly, he added. "The USSR is barely holding itself together nowadays. Russia's losing more and more power and the nations held prisoner in his house will eventually be able to break free. It seems like that's all America can talk about recently."

"Isn't that a good thing though? No more Cold War and having to worry about being nuked as America's neighbor? Ottawa isn't very far from the States. I mean, once Prussia broke down the Berlin Wall, it's just been one downward spiral for Russia." Australia rarely poked around in their politics-it was all too convoluted and messy and he had his own issues to deal with-but there was not a single nation out there who didn't at least know about Berlin and the USSR's decline.

Amelia barreled in through the door, sweating and covered in various bruises, cuts, and scratches. And was she...smoking? "FUCK THOSE COMMIES!"

Apparently she didn't care about the fact that yes, her hair was partially on fire. She plopped herself down on the carpet and spread out all her limbs, resembling a starfish. "Whatcha talking about anyways? All I heard was Russia."

"You never change, do you?" Matthew sighed, leaning over and extinguishing the small flame with his fingertips. "Where's Olivia?"

"Sittin' in the front yard pouting because she knows I won." She paused. "Hold up-"

She sat up and eyed Australia and Matthew. "You two have just been chatting like magpies this whole time? Isn't that boring?"

He supposed it could seem so, but Matthew was an excellent conversationalist when he wasn't being drowned out by America's voice. "Nope. It's relaxing to just talk and not worry about politics."

"Well, you could say that everything we talk about is political, considering we are nations and therefore anything we say could be taken politically-" Amelia cut herself off.

"-Anyways, yeah, I get it. But it's been literally hours." She flopped back onto the carpet dramatically. "Aren't you the least bit bored? Just a teeny-weeny-itsy-bitsy amount?"

"No." Both answered, overlapping.

Amelia flipped onto her stomach. "Damn, y'all are a bunch of Grannies and I'm older than you." Her voice floated out from underneath the mop of blonde hair covering her head.

"Then you're an idiot who's been fighting for, I dunno, a few hours nonstop over a card game?" Australia teased.

"It was worth it!"

The two men shared a look, clearly trying not to laugh.

For what it was, even though Australia lost every round of cards he played that day, it was a pretty solid way to spend an afternoon. As the sun reached its zenith in England, all of the light-hearted banter and talk from earlier that day would be exchanged with nervous excitement of what was to come.

-0-

It happened so easily that Olivia could've blinked and missed it. One moment, she was on the soft grass, staring up at the cloudy sky and waiting for her body to heal up after her fight with Amelia.

It was like...she'd gone from one dream to another. The rules of it were almost exactly the same, and so were the characters, but something was slightly different. The analogy wasn't quite right though.

The change was more like...

It was like baking, actually. The core recipe was the same but the way each ingredient was incorporated made a different result. If one were to reduce the butter needed later in the cookies to brown butter first, the result would be much different than if they just put the whole stick of plain butter. The results would both be cookies, but different flavours and possiblytextures.

And if a person had only eaten the cookie with brown butter, they would assume that was just how cookies were made. But Olivia had tasted both cookies.

She knew about the reality where Jett and Matthew were figureheads, and Amelia was the loud and rambunctious one. But she also knew about the reality where it was James and Jane who were the figureheads, and Ashlyn who was loud.

Once she had the taste of it, she'd never forget. Before, she could only imagine, but after, she knew.

She didn't know how she felt about the conflicting memories. It was annoying, because she knew the new ones were false, but her mind kept wanting to admit that they were true. The effects of magic, she supposed.

She looked for the sun to gauge what time it was, feeling too lazy to go inside and check the clock. It had already passed its apex, so it had to be around 1 PM. Not too long until they had to leave for Scotland then.

Muffled bits of conversation could be heard through the walls of the home, but Olivia didn't care enough to listen in and try to decode it. She was perfectly happy sitting outside on the grass. Nature...she couldn't quite explain it, but sitting in grass or among trees made her heal faster.

To prove her point, a small purplish-blue bruise on her hand faded quickly as soon as she laid her arm down in the grass, the color retreating in front of her eyes. Olivia sighed, pulling herself up and grimacing as her body begged for her not to. Even with advanced healing, Amelia's punches were not something to take lightly. She opened the front door and walked over to the other nations gathered in the living room.

"Did you feel it?"

Matthew nodded while Amelia and Jett both tried to answer verbally. Amelia ended up being the one who spoke. "Yep. It feels...weird. Like, I remember being me, duh, but also I remember acting like Ashlyn." She unwrapped a square of bright pink bubblegum and popped it into her mouth.

Alright, that was similar to her feeling. "And you two, you are still the figureheads, correct?" She asked.

"Yes. I can still feel the heartbeat of my people, the water rushing through my rivers and the winds blowing through my skies. Only the mind has changed." Jett said, pausing as he came upon a new thought. "Hey, will Janie even remember why I left?"

Good question, one that she didn't have the answer to. They could try to ask Ollie, but he was just as poorly attuned to magic as she was, and Artie and Ally were busy downstairs.

"I don't think so, but I'm also not certain about my answer." She replied finally. Jett accepted her answer with just a simple nod.

"That's alright. Janie's strong and can handle herself. If she needs to, she can always rely on Ngarra or Kirra if things become rough. I'm..." He paused. "...Never mind. We're supposed to be leaving in just a little over 90 minutes from now, so if you want to take a nap, you should get to it."

"I think Artie's the one who needs the nap." Amelia smirked. "The old geezer looked miserable the whole trip back."

Matthew stood up and stretched. "If no one wants to rest, then maybe we should treat Amelia and Olivia so they don't look awful when we arrive. Oh, and make some sandwiches for the train ride."

Amelia gave him a look. "I'm not a colony anymore, Mattie. I can take care of myself."

"I'm just stating what I think our priorities should be. You don't have to listen." He walked past her to the powder loo, where the bandages and ointments were conveniently located. Olivia followed without question, more than eager to feel better. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched Amelia begrudgingly stand up and follow.

Matthew was excellent at dressing wounds. He was quick yet delicate, his fingers nimble enough to rival a master seamstress's. In no time at all, Olivia was properly bandaged and on her way to recovery. She'd probably be better by the time they got to Hogwarts, Matthew estimated.

Amelia was a different story, however. At every instance Matthew tried to fix her up, she reacted like a cat does to a bath. Long story short, she was acting like a child.

"No! That stings!"

Matthew rolled his eyes. "Do you want to suffer from infections again?"

"Then be more gentle, asshole!"

Yeah, she was acting like she always did. Even with her apparent memories of acting like Ashlyn(who never complained when being bandaged), her own personality shone through. Olivia watched the two blondes argue, leaning against the door and just waiting for the surprisingly hilarious exchange to be over.

A knock was what cut it off.

Olivia opened the door to a completely bedraggled-looking Artie, with dark eye bags that were larger than a raccoon's. "We're ready for you all."

"Holy shit dude, are you okay?" Amelia shoved Matthew into the wall and walked away. "You look like hell."

"Just hurry up so I can rest before we leave. Jett and Alice are waiting." He grumbled. Amelia followed with no complaint, a loose bandage trailing behind her like a ribbon of cut flesh.

Olivia helped Matthew up. "Are you alright?"

"This feels like a butterfly kiss compared to whenever we play baseball. Let's hurry up for the sake of Arthur's sanity."

"Agreed."

He walked with her down into the basement, stepping down the old stones as they descended into the earth. While the house above changed with the times, the basement stayed the same after centuries. The stones were well worn by years of use, and the wooden doors keeping whatever magical creatures Arthur and Amelia conjured inside stayed strong and steadfast, the wood protected from rotting by magic.

Olivia pushed open the doors and walked into the room. She didn't spend much time down here mostly because it was, quite frankly, depressing and she also had no magic to practice in the first place. After today, that would change.

"All of you, step into the circle and hold hands. Do not move no matter how hard the wind blows, and no matter what, do not open your eyes until I say so."

Jett set down Steve. "Is it alright for him to be in here, or should he leave?"

"I'd prefer if he and Kumajiro were out of the room. I don't want them to possibly mess anything up." Alice said without looking up from the book in her hands. The bears obeyed and walked out, chatting like old friends.

"I'm a bit nervous." Olivia admitted to Matthew. "I haven't been this small in centuries."

He stepped into the circle and held out his hand. "We'll be small together. There's nothing to worry about."

"It's "ah-bout", like "gout". Not "aboot"." Amelia teased, grabbing his other hand after only a moment of doubt. Something on her cousin's face told Olivia that she was doing this as a form of proving bravery, or something similar. Olivia followed her cousin's lead and waited for Jett to close up the circle.

When everything was ready, and she closed her eyes as Arthur instructed, Olivia focused on her heartbeat. It was strong and a bit quick, possibly from the anxiety of what was to come. She could feel the rush of blood to and from her fingertips, and if she concentrated, she could feel Jett and Matthew's pulses as well, through their hands.

Matthew sent her a little silent squeeze.

"It'll be alright." The squeeze said. "Don't worry, I'm here for you."

She squeezed back as the chanting began. At first, the words were slow and deliberate, but as they quickened, the room began to feel warm.

It went from warm to hot quickly. Soon, Olivia felt like she was sweating out of every pore and her skin felt loose and baggy. But that was only the beginning of the discomfort. Next were the cramps, when her internal organs were screaming as pressure pushed on them to become smaller and smaller. Her bones shrunk, and her nerves felt like they were electrocuted. She wanted to open her eyes so badly, to beg for it to stop, but she bit her lip and squeezed her eyelids together as much as she could.

And then, it all stopped.

Was it over? She...didn't feel very different? Maybe lighter? Her clothes felt like they were going to slip off any moment, at least.

"It is safe to open your eyes. Please take care to properly adjust to your new size." Alice instructed.

Olivia opened her eyes immediately. The first thing that she noticed was how everything was slightly taller. Not by much, but it was enough to be slightly jarring.

"Did it work? HOLY FUCK, MY VOICE!" Amelia squeaked. "Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. No, why do I have an accent? Fuck."

"We reverted you to your forms of when you were physically 12. Your hair cuts, voices, and bodies are all from that time." Arthur explained tiredly, handing out clothes. "Here, these should do for now. I completely forgot to tell you to pack clothes for your younger physiques, so we'll have to get by on your old clothes until we can buy proper wizarding attire."

Olivia lifted the dress she'd been given. It wasn't hers, but it was still pretty.

"Is this dress Seychelles? I mean, Michelle's."

Matthew glanced at her dress and then his own slacks and shirt. "I sink so. Zese ahre mine, I cahn tell. I'm surprised zey've lasted ziss long weethout moths getteeng to zem."

"Oh god, Matthew's a frenchie again." Amelia complained. "And why do I have to wear this frilly ass piece of shit? Give me some real clothes, like Mattie's!"

Arthur rubbed his temples. "Alice, please deal with this. I need to rest."

"Understood." She waited for Arthur to leave the room before giving Amelia a curt and stern, "No."

"Why not? It's not like I have tits anymore! Plus, tons of girls wear pants nowadays."

Leaving Amelia to argue with Alice over her clothing choices, Olivia, Jett, and Matthew went upstairs to change. Once she started moving, the realness of it set in.

She was smaller, and if what they said about hair was the truth, then she had a bath to get to. There was no way she was going to wear 14th century hair in the modern day. Jett's brown hair was sticking out in nearly every direction, and the little bandaid he always wore across his nose was gone. Matthew just looked like a mini France. Add a blue cape and there would be no difference.

"I always hated these starched collars." Jett commented, pulling on a white shirt. "I say we try to buy some t-shirts if we get the opportunity. Remember, none of us can legally drive or drink anymore in public."

Matthew slipped on his leather shoes. "I nearly fahrgot ahbout zat. Zank you fahr ze remindair."

Michelle's old dress was very comfy for what it was. And it was pink, so that was a definitive bonus. "Toodles, boys. I've got an appointment with the bathroom. My hair is an utter disaster."

"You can say that again." Amelia grumbled, walking up from behind them, wearing her old dress. "It looks like shit."

"Says the one in the Mother Goose bonnet." Jett teased. Amelia punched him in the arm.

Olivia thought about it. Amelia needed a good wash and trim anyways, and it could be fun. "...Okay, Amelia. Follow me. Let's see what we can do with our hair in the time we have."

Surprisingly, she followed without complaint.

Maybe this form had more benefits than she initially thought.

-0-

The rush to get out of the house was something Canada rarely experienced modern-day. Usually, it was America crashing into his house and demanding that he go to some sort of sporting event with one of them because one of the other Americas weren't available. But this was different.

"Come on, the train won't be waiting for us. It leaves at 3 no matter what."

The group of nations were speed walking through King's Cross, dragging suitcases that now held Arthur's textbooks and prep materials rather than the clothes they'd originally held. Kumaoji was much heavier than before(possibly because his muscles were that of a child's now), so Arthur was carrying him and Steve in exchange for the two nations dragging his suitcases.

Amelia and Olivia were trying desperately to keep up in their dresses, but the mix of not being adjusted to their bodies and long dresses left them tripping left and right. Amelia's swearing was almost...metronomic.

"We're looking for Platform 9. It shouldn't be far from here." Arthur huffed, trying to keep pace with the children. "Olivia, time check!"

"2:49!" She shouted from the back.

"Bugger, alright. Come on, hurry up!"

Canada urged his legs to move faster, but they felt like those of a newborn deer. He took a momentary break just to catch his breath when he spotted it. "Zhere! Platform 9!"

"Brilliant. Alright, keep your eyes on me and follow without question. We'll be walking through a portal of sorts, but it's disguised. So long as we move quickly no one will notice." Arthur's pace sped up with no regard to the four people trailing him with the physical abilities of nonathletic children.

Like Alfred, actually. As much as Canada loved his brother, he had no respect for those who couldn't keep up with him athletically. Amelia at least tried to wait for you to catch up(usually she gave up on waiting from impatience, but still). Canada shook the thought out of his mind. Right now, he needed to focus on moving and making sure he didn't lose sight of Arthur.

He was glad he snapped out of it when he did, because only seconds after Canada refocused on Arthur, the Brit made a sharp turn and walked straight into a brick pillar. No collision, just a seamless fusion with the bricks.

"...I...Portal?" Amelia gasped once she caught up.

Jett poked it, letting his fingertip go into the brick. "I guess. Who's first?"

Olivia walked straight through with no question. There was no noise, no shimmer, nothing. Like she was walking straight through a projection. Her hand poked out and gestured to them.

"Come on, it's safe," The hand seemed to say. Jett grabbed it and was dragged in soundlessly.

Amelia screeched. "Hell no. I am not going into a wall. Nuh-uh."

"Ze others ahre waiting. We've gaht to hurry." Canada urged. "Please. I'll lead you een ahnd. You cahn keep your eyes closed eef you wahnt."

"Nope. I was already done when I fucking time traveled. Now I'm in a stupid-ass kid's body and you're telling me to walk into a wall? No way. I quit. This whole thing is bullshit."

She spoke so quickly that Canada barely caught any of it, but her position on the issue was clear. Canada heaved a sigh. "Guess I'm going to hahve to do eet ze hard way zenn."

He grabbed her wrist and ran in, dragging a screaming Amelia behind him.

-0-

The utter nerve. Between the fucking uncomfortable ass dress with its stupid lace and stupid ribbons and stupid 50 million layers of fucking white undergarments and Artie's bullshit magic, Matthew's dumbass decision to drag her into a magical portal was the icing on top of the cake.

"YOU ASSHOLE!"

But there was nothing she could do. Matthew-he didn't deserve to be called Mattie right now-caught her off guard in that microscopic window of time and now she was at the mercy of his stupidity. For all they knew, the portal would strip her apart atom by atom like Mike TV in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and she'd be all disfigured afterwards.

Or worse, she'd just die. Not like, haha I died and can come back like a cool person dead, but Ancient Rome level dead.

"...Amy, snahp out of eet. Zey're waiteeng."

"Huh?" She wasn't dead? She was...standing in the station. How in the world...?

Matthew was still holding her hand. "Zee? Hahrmless. Come on, let's go befahre ze train leaves."

She could only muster a weak nod. What the hell was she getting into, really? Her body felt like she was on the verge of a migraine and also about to faint, but combined. Matthew led her onto the train and helped her sit down one a seat in the booth Arthur chose.

"Do you need some water? I have some in the suitcase." Jett asked. Did she really look that bad? It was just some form of shock.

Something in her gut told her to run away from everything surrounding her. That it was wrong. Dangerous. A thing to fear.

Weakly, she whispered, "Yes please." Maybe she was just dehydrated from the magic body shrinking. Jett handed her a bottle and she drank it all. She missed the way the water in California tasted.

"Thanks. I think that did the trick!" She smiled brightly and handed Jett the now-empty bottle. His and Matthew's concern faded instantly, replaced with relief. But the truth was that she didn't feel better at all.

The feeling of dread only grew as the train announced its departure and began to move.

If it wouldn't go away on its own, she'd distract herself enough to forget about it. A nap, maybe. Dreams were always a good way to calm down and relax. Unlike humans, nations didn't really experience what they regarded as nightmares and dreams.

They saw things when they slept, but it was...less organic? It was like you were looking at a T.V. and you could see a collection of shorts that just consisted of your citizen's experiences that day. It could be something boring, like a mother telling her child no at a supermarket, it could be something heartwarming, like an old person reading stories to their grandchildren, or it could be, well, unsavory. Drug deals. Murders. Robberies. All of them had to only be little snippets, but they were enough to understand what was going on. And if you were worried about your people, the best way was to get a read on the panic levels through your dreams.

And with the oncoming year out of state, something from home was needed.

"Hey guys, mind if you keep it down? I'm gonna try to take a quick nap during the ride. If there's a chance to buy chocolate, do it and save it for me to eat later."

Arthur didn't even try to object. "That's an excellent idea. If you wish to talk, there are other compartments on the train. We'll need rest, knowing how Hogwarts works."

Olivia played with the magic bracelet Alice gave her before they left. It was silver with an amber stone woven inside the delicate filigree. According to her cousin, it contained nearly all of Alice's magic. Amelia called bullshit. "Um, how do I make sure that I don't accidentally use Ally's magic?"

Arthur held open his palm. "The only way to ensure you don't is for me to hold onto it for now. Once I'm more awake and can think properly, then I can teach you how to control when and how you summon it."

"Oh, alright." Olivia unclasped it and dropped the bracelet into his palm. "I think I'm going to go explore for a bit then. Does anyone else want to come?"

Jett got up and followed her out, Steve walking quickly after him. The cabin was silent, and soon, Amelia fell asleep.

-0-

She was in a field of corn. A murder of crows was gathered nearby, squawking and flying around something on the ground. The sun was bright and warm, and the sky a soft watercolor blue. She was in Iowa, to be more specific.

Amelia walked towards whatever the crows were surrounding, unsure if she should be worried about what she would find. A rotting corpse of an animal?

She flashed to a new spot before she could get a good look at the fallen body, but it looked like a dog with the little glimpse she had gotten.

Now she was in Texas, sitting in Galveston on the beaches. Some kids ran by in swimsuits, the tallest of the bunch catapulting lumps of wet sand at the younger children. The mother sat on the beach sunning herself and reading a trashy romance novel that middle-aged women seemed to collect solely for the purpose of reading them on beaches. The father was busy playing with his youngest, helping her bury his foot.

She didn't even take a step before she flashed again, now to the top of a building in...was this Vermont? Yes, it had to be. A girl was yelling at her college-aged boyfriend for cheating on her on a darkened suburban street. Amelia winced. The boy was trying in vain to win back his girlfriend's trust, but it was already far too broken.

"I wish ya the best, bud. Maybe next time you'll stay faithful." Amelia whispered as she felt herself slip away into another flashback.

She was...

Holy shit, this was Brady's neighborhood. The boys were playing baseball like usual. Amelia ran as fast as she could over to Brady and inspected his numbers. Good, they were the same as she left them. He was waiting to bat, and looking at the scoreboard, his team wasn't doing too hot.

"I'll be back, I promise. It's just a year. Hold on, until then. Then we can play some more baseball-"

He looked right at her. "You promise?"

She stepped back. This was...no. This was supposed to be a snippet of reality she observed, like a ghost.

But Brady was looking right at her. 

-0-

Author's Notes! 

Hi everyone! Exams are officially over for me, so expect more frequent updates. As usual, lets start this with giving thanks to all the wonderful reviewers, shall we? 

First, huge thanks to Respire-Sodastone who left a whopping FIVE comments on this work in one sitting. Seriously, your reviews were so fun to read. Your critique is incredibly valid and I'll be trying my best to listen to it for future chapters. Seriously, kudos to you!

Next, thank you to twashcat360 for your reliable commentary, Janelle Evergreen for her lovely Starkid shout out, and PanWithNoPlan for your excellent observation about Ilvermorny. You guys are seriously awesome! 

Finally, love to everyone who's decided to follow this story! It means the world whenever you favorite/give kudos, or follow. 

Now that that's done, huge thank you to my two betas who've given me ideas about the Christmas special, amazing discussions, valid critique, and just being awesome gals. The server is small, but I feel so happy whenever either one of you come online and talk with me. 

This chapter was...I wouldn't say grind, more that it took a lot longer than expected. I had everything up to the Tripoley scene written out, but then exam week hit and I went on a family vacation. Needless to say, I am back and ready to go. With nothing else to do during quarantine, chapters should come out more consistently. If there's any delay, its usually because of real life, which takes priority. 

Anyways, I'm happy to have this chapter done and I'm already working on V. I know I said Hogwarts would be this chapter, but it was already reaching 9000 words and I decided to cap it. Didn't want to delay it even more. 

Remember, if you want to beta, talk, or just hang out, you can contact me via email(those2peeps at gmail.com) or through discord, where I'll be Fluff#0929. 

Love you all so, so much, and I wish you the best week ever!

Msperfectsheep

Character Reference:

Mains:
Amelia Elizabeth Jones: Nyo!America
Arthur Kirkland: England
Jacob Alexander "Jett" Papalya: Australia
Matthew Jean Williams: Canada
Olivia "Vee" Kirkland: 2p!Nyo!England

Other(Varies per chapter):
Alice "Ally" Kirkland: Nyo!England
Jane Papalya: Nyo!Australia
Leslie Papalya: Gay and Lesbian Kingdom
Bumby: Bumbunga
Lucy "Lu" Papalya: Aeterna Lucina
Ngarra: 2p!Australia
Kirra: 2p!Nyo!Australia
Steve "Stevie": Jett's Koala
Oliver "Ollie" Kirkland: 2p!England
Brady Kaminski: Amelia's baseball friend from LA
James Williams: 2p!Canada
Ashlyn Jones: 2p!Nyo!America
Alfred "Al" Jones: America
Bruce Papalya: Independent State of Rainbow Creek
Milen Hinova: Bulgaria
Aurel Popescu: Moldova
Michelle Payet: Seychelles