They were all in the middle of their feast when a certain pearly ghost settled near them, albeit on the opposite side of the immortals. He looked very victorian, and was wearing an outfit some of the older nations recalled England having a version of at one point or another.

The ghost glanced warily at them, but Alexei, hoping to sooth him, smiled, and he did settle down a bit.

Enough, at least, to start a conversation. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington, of the Gryffindor tower. At your services, young Lions."

Ron immediately perked up at this. "Wait, isn't he the one you told me about?" He glanced at the twins, then back at the ghost. "Aren't you Nearly Headless Nick or something like that?"

Nick looked very offended at that, but Alexei felt some sympathy for him after the persistence of Dumbledore at calling him 'Harry'. He spoke up for the ghost. "Do you not like nickname?" Nick gave him an unsettled glance and simply looked nervous until finally deciding on a nod. "Then I and maybe others will not be calling you that. But why is that your nickname, if it is okay to ask?"

Nick looked around, then sighed. "Fine, I'll show you," He muttered, "But don't expect me to again." Their side of the Gryffindor table leaned in, even the ones who had probably seen it before. The ghost swung his head off, and Alexei just had to think for a moment just how gross that was, but the head kind of hung there in gory glory, before the ghost scowled and swung it back up and regarded them all with a disappointed look on his face. "Really, you ought to be glad you asked me and not the others. It's best not to ask a ghost how he died. Manners, and all." They shuffled, abashed, until he took pity on them. "Well, just do better than last year, and we'll get along fine. House competition and all- Slytherin's been winning, and the Snakes have gotten more and more smug."

He floated off, muttering under his breath. They finished their dinners, listening to Neville's stories of how he had discovered his magic. They finished up their desserts, Toris picking at his food due to his weak stomach, while Ludwig and Alexei enjoyed trying out new foods.

After some time, Ludwig nudged Alexei, and he looked up from his tart. "What is it, Ludwig?"

Ludwig was scowling slightly, and he casually nodded to the turbaned teacher at the head table. "That Professor has been staring at you. He has not been looking happy, either. It is most vorrying." Alexei glanced up again at the table, and noticed the man was staring at him, and really was glaring.

He glanced back at Ludwig and shrugged, unease quickly washing away. "I am famous here, da? Maybe he is not liking me."

Ludwig nodded, gaze still on the professor, but eventually turned back to his meal. The meals got finished, and the hall settled down slowly when Dumbledore called for attention. The man laid the details of rules for the year, and they began to head off for their dorms, led by Percy, who brought them up stairs and past a ghost called Peeves, who took one look at the nations and fled, to a large painting of a woman.

She glanced at them, asking simply for a password, which Percy supplied, and the Gryffindors went inside to a large room with a blazing fire, comfortable chairs, and tables to play games on. Two staircases on opposite sides led to what must've been dorms, and Percy led the boys up to one of the stairs and showed them the beds, which, while being in a dorm, were surprisingly private, with their own spaces and with the beds hidden by thick curtains. They all put their stuff away, making sure to get beds near each other, and quickly fell to sleep.

/Dumbledore's POV\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Dumbledore, once safely in his office, slumped in his chair and began to think without any interruptions. He had asked for Minerva and Severus to come at a later time so they could go to the address Harry had given them. Ah, Harry. Or, as the surely confused child was determined to call himself, Alexei. He would respect his wishes, but it was confusing how the lad had gotten so different from what Dumbledore or any of the adults had expected.

He looked utterly different than either Lily or James, other than the green eyes, but even those had an odd purple sheen to them. Even through all that, however, the list and Hat never lied, and both had accepted him as Harry Potter, so the boy's identity was confirmed. It was so odd, though, that Harry had become so utterly foreign in so little time, since he had only disappeared a few years ago, and that surely wasn't enough time to become so Russian, but perhaps since the child was young he adapted.

There was a knock at the door, and Dumbledore called, "Come in."

Minerva and Severus entered, both looking like they had done thinking on the topic as well. Dumbledore took out the scrap of paper Alexei and held it out, reading the address, then getting out a bag of Floo Powder. Alexei had said that his father had been expecting them, so Dumbledore had assumed the man would be okay with them coming through the fireplace. He tossed the powder into the fire, turning it green, and walked in, followed by Minerva and Severus, and all carefully called out the address of the place.

They carefully stepped out one by one into the living room of a warm, wooden house, and looking around they saw it carefully furnished with mostly necessary items, but some more lavish items were scattered around as well. There, on a couch, sat a tall man with short, platinum blonde hair and an odd smile. Next to him sat a familiar face.

Minerva gasped. "Kirkland? What are you doing here? I thought this was where Alexei's father lives."

Kirkland gracefully stood up and gestured to three chairs facing the couch. "Please, sit down and we can talk about what you've come to say." They did so, with Dumbledore carefully eyeing his friend, knowing Legilimens would get nowhere on him, although the two strangers sitting next to the man could be susceptible.

The blond man was the first to speak. "Hello, Professors. I am Alexei's father, da? My name is Ivan Braginsky. It is a pleasure to be meeting."

Dumbledore smiled his typical smile, although unable to catch the man's eyes. "I am Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts. This lovely lady on my left is Minerva McGonagall, and the gentleman on my right is Severus Snape, both professors at the school. However, pleasantries aside, what are you doing here, Kirkland? Did you know of the identity of our new transfers?"

Kirkland shifted, a tad bit too nervously to not be suspicious. "Well, I actually just learned of young Alexei's secret a few days ago, and my owl was sick, unfortunately. So I told Alexei before he left on the train to schedule a meeting here, now, so we could all have a talk face-to-face instead of through owl. I thought you might want to meet Alexei's adoptive father, after all."

Dumbledore sighed. He knew something was wrong, and so he did what he was hoping he wouldn't have to do. He gazed into Ivan Braginsky's eyes, attempting Legilimens.

Immediately, his mind ran into an icy blizzard, so cold he only stumbled around in it for milliseconds, but it was already too long to do so before the owner of the snowy mindscape realized what was happening and pushed him out.

Startled, and back in his own mind now, he looked up to see both Braginsky and Kirkland glaring at him. It made sense for Kirkland to have sensed his magic; the man had always been good at knowing the oddest things. Braginsky stood up, glaring down at him, and next to him Kirkland looked about ready to do the same.

Both of their eyes seemed to grow deep and old in their fury, and as Dumbledore, Severus, and Minerva stared into them unwittingly, their eyes only grew more intense. Braginsky was soon pushed back down by Kirkland, but both were still clearly at the end of their ropes.

Kirkland was the first to speak, practically snarling the words. "What, Albus Dumbledore, do you think you're doing!? How dare you attempt something so disgusting, so remorselessly, on a man who, for all you know, is a powerless muggle unable of Occlumency!? How dare you!" Kirkland heaved a breath, then continued on, uncaring of the effect he had. "What of the man we followed, all those years ago, in the Order? When did that man, our leader, fall to this disgusting level?"

Minerva cut through the rant now, not knowing what Dumbledore had done a few moments before. "What is wrong with you, Kirkland? We just came to talk! What have we done to warrant this behavior?"

This time, Braginsky spoke, and while Kirkland's voice had made him feel guilty in ways he hadn't been for the longest time- an odd feeling of utter wrongness, as if something crucial to him had been torn slightly- Braginsky's voice was different. This man spoke in tones that were ice, the coldest days of winter, utterly condemning and miserable. The man kept his purple eyes (And wasn't that odd, thought Dumbledore, to have the same shade as Alexei's) fixated on his own, never looking away.

"Your headmaster has tried to know my secrets, da? Is it allowed to go into minds, now?"

Minerva gasped beside Dumbledore, and he could practically feel the shock radiating off of Severus, although he knew there was understanding there, at least. Kirkland kept frowning, glaring at him, although not at the two beside him. After a moment of silent tension, the green-eyed man sighed slowly and ran a hand through his hair, casting a glance to Braginsky.

Clearly, Dumbledore noted, to calm the man down, although his gaze promised a row later, and Dumbledore suddenly regretted the attempt even more.

Kirkland began speaking again, slower, attempting to calm the situation. "Let's… try to accomplish the original mission here. These teachers, Ivan, as I said, just want to know exactly why and how you picked up Alexei. After that… I think I'll have a much needed conversation with them. But please, Ivan, just tell them what happened." Dumbledore watched, not without apprehension, as the angry Russian cooled down, slowly gathering his thoughts. The man finally peeled his odd eyes from Dumbledore's own and gazed at all three of them, no longer with that echoing depth of his and Kirkland's that had disturbed them earlier.

Braginsky nodded, and began to recount from his memories. "I was walking, after business meeting, with Arthur and some others, da? I was wanting to see the sights, and walked to area with nice, neat little houses and grass." His eyes narrowed, the most expressive part of his face, it seemed. "I was hearing shouting, and pain, so I walked to it. There was a tall woman, yelling at child, maybe hitting, and also a large man, yelling too. So I walked up and asked them to stop, and they try to yell at me to. But I am not willing to be yelled at, or let the child be hurt, so I ask them if I can adopt boy, and they are willing. So I agree to not let him come back and take him here, and care for him."

Braginsky was smiling a little now, rather pleasantly. "He said, that he wanted new name. So I call him Alexei, after a boy long ago. And now, we get letter, and Arthur tells me about Magic."

Minerva was nodding now, sympathy welling in her eyes as she was surely thinking about the abuse the boy had been through, but some of the anger from earlier still shone through when she glanced at Dumbledore, and the old man mentally readied himself for what was sure to be a great dressing down.

Kirkland had now folded his arms, and was standing, ready to usher them out. Clearly the man had not put aside the indignity his friend had almost gone through either. Dumbledore pushed himself to his feet, and Severus followed, with Minerva shaking hands with Braginsky before following.

Dumbledore threw some of the powder into the fireplace, and they were thrown back into his office, shakily standing back up. Minerva barely had time to round on him before the fire flashed green again and Kirkland followed, immediately straightening up and joining Minerva in the glaring. Severus got out, quickly, presumably fearful of the scolding.

Minerva's eyes were flashing, and the look on Kirkland's face… Dumbledore knew he had to explain, immediately. "I apologize for my actions, Kirkland. I… was skeptical of Braginsky's motives, and the man had no tells… I felt I had no choice other than that."

Kirkland actually seemed to hiss at this. "You thought my friend- who I have known for years now, and Alexei has too- was a- a Death Eater?! A kidnapper? What do you mean, Albus, by no choice?!"

He stalked towards Dumbledore, green eyes performing that same odd deepening, achingly old stare that seemed to penetrate bones. "Why is it that you even feel the need to Legilimens anyone anymore?! Will you be running around the castle next, staring into your student's eyes, dredging through their memories? Promise me, you will not stoop to this again. These are peaceful times, take it from me… I should know… There is no reason to act hostile now, Dumbledore. Keep your weapons for the war."

There was silence for a moment, as Dumbledore felt that wrongness, yet again, of having Kirkland yell at him. It had happened even before now, when the hot-tempered man had given him much needed advice when he was about to turn down the wrong path. It was strange, though, and it felt like he was betraying something he had fought for, long ago. He gave a long look into those endless green eyes, not probing but simply staring. Dumbledore gave a long, tumbling sigh, and blinked, a long slow blink.

"Fine," he said. "Please give Braginsky my apologies. I was too nervous to lose Harry again, I suppose."

He turned and made to go through a door in the back of the room, but before he could leave, Kirkland called after him one last time. "His name's Alexei now, Albus. If you want to be forgiven, start with that."

Dumbledore nodded, and exited.

/England's POV/

England ran his hand through his hair and sighed. He had not meant to be so passionate, but that did seem to be a recurring problem of his. He turned his gaze to Minerva next, already fidgeting to leave, and apologize to Russia.

Minerva, surprisingly, gave him a small smile. "I suppose that was good enough for me, as well, Kirkland. Thank you for reminding him of those things- I swear, you've been the only one he's ever really listened to. Please, give your friend my apologies as well. He didn't deserve that treatment."

England smiled and nodded, then quickly departed to reassure Russia. That idiotic old man had gotten lucky that Russia was so calm nowadays. If Russia hadn't changed this much, Albus would've spoken to the nation's pipe for far less than what the wizard had done.

Thanks, guys, for reading. It's funny, I wrote the most of this while listening to Hetalia songs or marathoning Hetalia episodes, which is easy to do. Russia may seem really OC because he didn't beat Dumbledore up, but remember, he's supposed to have calmed down a ton. Remember, though, that this is only the beginning of the suspicions. While things may seem fine, someone has to figure out they're hiding something, and England's ranting is only going to work for so long. Thanks, and see you all next update! Remember, if you have a oneshot or an OC, don't be afraid to suggest! I'm also working on the design of their cloaks, although I've only got the rough drafts of Germany's and Latvia's right now. I should post that soon enough, I'll let you all know when I've done so. Bye!