A/N: I hope everyone doesn't kill me for this chapter. It's mostly a filler chapter. Which, in case anyone would like to listen to my defence before burning me at the stake, I was loathe to write. It's just that it wouldn't be possible to get to any of the other actual plot-related chapters up; huge time skips aren't what I'm going for in this, after all.

Nearly two weeks after Thanksgiving found the students of Hogwarts on their first weekend trip to Hogsmead.

The minute that the teachers set them all loose, they broke off into groups of two or more, scattering in all directions. Laughter and voices too loud to be considered anywhere near polite had filled the air, breaking the peaceful quiet that the town had been in before everyone got there.

A few of the more elderly wizards that lived in the town cast the students dissaproving looks. Most of the children were too cuaght up in being free from the boundries of the school to give them any attention and the ones who did, the younger and more rambunctious students, sent looks right back at them.

Mathew was too busy browsing the shelves of Honeydukes to pay attention to those noise, though. Compared to the G8 meetings, which he could tune out almost completely, the noise of overly happy children was nothing; and if the meetings didn't give him enough practice to block out unwanted noise, living in the same house as a fueding Alfred and Arthur had.

They were shouting again. They did that a lot lately, shouted and cursed and fought like they had completely forgotten the last few centuries worth of a relatioship that they'd had. It always scared Mathew who, while living in the same posh mansion as Francis, had never come anywhere near such fights; and the fights he'd been in with his people, back before he was colonized, had never been filled with so much hate.

Besides, the vass amount of wizard candies in the store had caught his attention almost immideatly. All the different types and flavors, the bright colored wrappers that covered the wall and the blood colored lollipops that filled the stand in the center of the store...It was a sight that Mathew could honestly say he'd never seen before.

When he was in Hogwarts, he'd only ever been to Hogsmead twice. The first two trips during his fourth year, Mathew had recieved letters stating that he was allowed to go. Alfred was the only one who ever got a letter of permission from Arthur after that; it had baffled the headmaster and the teachers the first few times it had happened, just like it had surprised his near-twin, but after a while it hadn't even seemed to register to them that only one of Kirkland's boys was allowed into Hogsmead.

And back then, the shop hadn't had anywhere as near a large selection. Which mean that half of the treats on sale were things that Mathew had never even seen before. A lot of the candies that he had bought before, like the Goulsicles and the Popped Pixe-corn, weren't anywhere to be seen either.

Mathew pushed the thought out of his mind quick as he could, forcing himself to focus on the array of sugery sweets in front of him. His first trip to the wizarding town in centuries was not going to be ruined by a thought simple as that.

Just as he was reaching for a bar of chocolate on one of the lower shelves, one that had no label and no ingrediant list on it, a hand reached out and landed on his shoulder. Surprised, Mathew jumped, arms jerking towards his chest to keep himself from lashing out at whoever was behind him.

"I wouldn't buy that if I were you." Draco warned, not noticing the way that Mathew turned around in a jerky motion or the deep breaths he was now taking. "It's got an awful bite to it, and I don't mean flavor-wise."

"Oh." Mathew blinked and let his arms drop back to his sides, shoving his hands back into his jeans pockets. Because they weren't in school, the students had all been allowed to wear their own clothes for the day; and he didn't think it would be such a relief to get back into his baggy, red sweatshirt but it was. "Thank you."

The Slytherin boy gave him an odd look. It was almost a frown, but not quite. Something more like...Like he was curious about something and the thought of it annoyed him to no end.

"Is something wrong?" Mathew asked, voice far lower than any of the other students.

There was a moment of silence before Draco spoke, lips pursed together and eyebrows drawn tight. "You don't speak much, do you?"

At first, the Slytherin had just figured it was because of the teachers. He knew plenty of kids that only acted out and spoke up when none of the adults were around, Blaize included. But Mathew hadn't spoken much since they came to Hogsmead either and, when the blond did, it was in that same soft voice. It was starting to get annoying.

Children, when not in the act of keeping up an appearence, weren't supposed to be so quiet. Draco, maybe more than anyone, knew that. It just wasn't how a kid should act.

"I...Guess I don't." Mathew answered. It was hard starting up a conversation, or even just joining in one, when he was so used to being ignored and talked over.

Crossing his arms over his chest, Draco leaned back against one of the shelves behind him. The owner gave him a warning look, don't you dare knock my display over, but passed up a scolding to go and supervise a group of Hufflepuff's that had just walked in. "Why not?"

Mathew blinked. Pulling his lower lip into his mouth, and biting down on it hard, the blond gave a small shrug.

Arthur had never actually told Mathew that he couldn't speak. No, the Britt had just told him that French was a language never to be spoken in his home. Punishment was harsh when Mathew slipped up, it hurt when he slipped up, and since he didn't know more than a few words of English he just decided it was best not to speak.

"It's just..." Mathew paused. Thinking through every word he could say, every response it could have, and trying not to let his face show how he really felt right then; and it didn't, because Mathew was better than that. Something as small as this question, as easy to answer aas this one should be, couldn't break his carefully constructed smile.

It was a typical World Meeting. Nations were arguing, they were shouting and pointing and raising blames as they boosted their egos and spoke about what was going on in their countries. Mathew's turn to have the podium had happened almost an hour ago and, for once, the blond had been looking forward to standing up and speaking; he had just been given full status as a nation and was expected to give a speech on the form of government he would have that day. But no one had even looked his way and, after Alfred's turn ended, Kiku was called up instead. Honestly, Mathew wasn't surprised.

"It's just how I was raised." The answer was lacking at best but the Slytherin boy seemed to decide it was enough. Draco gave a small nod, face still twisted into the slightest of frowns, and motioned for Mathew to join him on the other side of the store with Crabbe anf Goyle.