OMFG I IS SORRY FOR LATE UPDATE OTL I was away, and you can't write on an iPad DX

Um, I've been told that I had some problems with past tense and present tense in the second chapter and thank you Leaf Child and chocobnylub for helping me by pointing that out. I do have some crap excuse-I was writing something else and my writing style on that carried over, and I didn't manage to catch everything when I edited it...

Many, many thanks to rickazcurser, who beta-ed this for me C:

Really sorry about that. I know that I hate it when authors do that DX Now for the new chapter!~

Feliciano looked worriedly at his new friend.

As soon as he had seen the time table, Matthew had frozen up like a statue. He had gone paler and looked like he was in shock. The Italian nervously chewed his bottom lip. He wished he knew what was wrong, but it was too early for that-he had just met the Canadian.

Tentatively, he touched the blonde's shoulder. Matthew jerked towards him, almost dropping his timetable in his pancakes. Brown eyes met blue-purple and Matthew softened, forcing himself to put a smile on his face.

Unfortunately, Feliciano Vargas may be dense, but even he could see through that smile.

"Ve, are you okay Matthew? You looked ill there." He was twisting his hands, and Matthew slumped, forcing himself to relax, tentatively smiling at the nervous Italian.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He looked across the table, and again he met the baffling, vivid purple eyes belonging to Katyusha's brother.

"I think."

Matthew headed towards Herbology, glad that the way there passed by the dormitories. He quickly got his and Feliciano's dragon hide gloves, and they quickly made their way to Greenhouse 1.

"Welcome to your First Class of Herbology! I am Professor Neville Longbottom." An awkward silence met the beaming visage of the war hero. The reactions were mixed-some were apprehensive and some were staring in barely concealed hero-worship. Others, like Matthew, just wanted the class to start already.

"Herbology is the study of magical plants and their uses." began Professor Longbottom. "Here you will learn how to grow, take care of, and harvest various types of plants. We'll first begin with their different types! Now, there are several categories they can fall under….."

Matthew smiled as the teacher lectured on about the types of plants and how their groups were related to what they were used for. He liked plants. There was a maple tree in his house in Canada. He used to watch the maple leaves fall. Even his wand was made of maple, with a unicorn hair core. He shook out of his stupor as Professor Longbottom asked the group a question.

"Can any of you name one herb used in healing? Anyone?" Matthew tentatively raised his hand.

A miracle happened that day to the young Canadian: When he raised his hand, Professor Longbottom picked him out of the crowd, without having to squint, or confuse Matthew for Alfred.

(A tiny, bitter part of Matthew argued that this was only his first class-the teacher was bound to slip up once the Professor had seen his more flamboyant twin. For the sake of his happiness, he steadfastly ignored this little part of him.)

"One p-plant used in healing is D-dittany, sir." He cursed himself for stuttering, and smiled back to Professor Longbottom. "10 points to Hufflepuff." He calmly said, and continued on with the lesson. Matthew smiled, and paid attention as the lesson went on and he slowly immersed himself in the sea of information. Kumajirou, bored with simply sitting beside the blonde, ambled over to a young cutting of the Venomous Tentacula, and started 'playing' with it.

Matthew had a hard time separating them once the lesson was over.

The two Hufflepuff First Years walked quickly to their next class, Potions with Ravenclaw. It was taught by Professor Slughorn, the Head of Slytherin. He refused to retire after the War, foreseeing a newer generation that didn't have war to dampen their talent. Along with the Astronomy Professor, the Ancient Runes professor, and the Arithmancy professor, they stayed at Hogwarts, guiding the newer teachers along.

"Ve, we got 20 points altogether and it's only our first class! Isn't that great, ve!" Feliciano excitedly babbled beside him. He had answered a question about which plants were used in magical paint. When Matthew asked the Italian to clarify, he told the Canadian that his grandfather, a prominent Pureblood Lord who could trace his ancestry to Roman conquerors, had taught him both Magical and Mundane art. Given his knowledge of Pureblood behavior, it was hard for the blonde to visualize.

They reached the classroom in which Potions was taught. Matthew couldn't understand why it had to be in the dungeons. If it was hard to see in potion fumes, why didn't they have the class in a brightly lit room on the ground floor, or something like that? He didn't understand their logic.

Professor Horace Slughorn was renowned for his ability to 'collect' the finest students in the school. In other words, he was like a bloodhound when it came to seeking out potential talent. His mother didn't know much about the man-she was from Beauxbatons, the French school for magic, and she had never met Slughorn before.

"Welcome to Potions Class, First Years! I could almost remember my first potions class, though that was quite a long time ago!" He gave a chuckle.

"Today we will be making a Boil-Removing potion. Now remember, add the quills after you have taken the cauldron off of the fire. That way, none of you will be acquainted with the Hospital Wing so early in the term! Now, will the first row stand up and go get their ingredients?" While Matthew stood up and went to go fetch potions ingredients from the supply closet, Professor Slughorn waved his wand and the instructions appeared on the blackboard. As he quickly looked back at Feliciano, he saw that the Italian was focusing on boiling the water. Grabbing porcupine quills, dried nettles, stewed horned slugs (the irony of this was not lost on Matthew) and snake fangs, he walked back to his seat.

The two First Years worked quickly and efficiently. Since Feliciano was a pureblood, and he was raised as if he was one, they both had tutors that prepared them for Hogwarts lessons by teaching them the basics of potions, and so they both knew what to do.

There was an unspoken agreement: the blonde would prepare the ingredients while the usually ditzy brunette, now sharp and focused, added the ingredients one by one. Kumajirou was put to the left of the Canadian, not making any fuss or noise, except to ask the blonde what he was doing. He absentmindedly answered the bear, focusing on his work.

Finally they finished, and the potion was the proper color of pistachio green. They had also finished a good ten minutes before everyone else except for a pair of Ravenclaws in the front. Matthew gave Feliciano a high-five and relaxed. As Professor Slughorn whirled around to inspect the potions, Matthew took a quick look at other people's. The Ravenclaws all had proper potions, though some were a shade or two off. Looking around, the Hufflepuffs had the same results.

He looked up, and saw that Slughorn was looking at him and Feliciano."Good job, good job indeed. Ten points to Hufflepuff for finishing early. Say, are you of the Vargas family? I met your uncle at an international Ministry Ball. He spoke of your artistic skills." He said, complimenting the ditsy Italian, who beamed and quickly thanked him. He paid no attention to the blonde, and walked away to inspect more work.

The dismissal stung, but Matthew tried to pass it off on the fact that his mother never went to Hogwarts. She was from Beauxbatons instead. As for his father...

His father was a Muggleborn who fell in love with Madeline Williams on an exchange program between Salem and Beauxbatons. They met, and fell in love. House Williams was quite liberal, and seeing as his father was quite powerful, allowed the marriage to happen. However, House Williams needed an heir, and so Matthew was groomed as the next one. Alfred was younger, and therefore couldn't inherit.

Even if Alfred was older, Matthew had a hard time imagining him with manners.

"Great work everyone! Your homework is to write an essay on what the ingredients do and why they were chosen for the potion. Now, let's keep up our record of zero accidents! Dismissed!" The students filed out, and so did Matthew and Feliciano. His good mood was rather dashed now. He looked at his time table to see the next class after lunch, and paled.

He hurried to lunch. Well, if he was to face Alfred, he didn't have to do it on an empty stomach.

"Ve~ that lunch was good! The pasta was great! Almost as good as what we have in Italy!" Feliciano raved, and Matthew tried to smile at the shorter brunet. He had savored his meal, even letting himself eat more poutine than usual (he wanted to develop healthy habits and try to cut back now).

Their next class was Transfiguration with Professor Padma Patil.

Along with Gryffindors.

Which meant Alfred.

Not to mention that Transfiguration was one of his weakest classes.

Despite his previous tutors, he wasn't sure whether or not he had an advantage. Matthew hadn't talked to his brother since before they left for the Hogwarts Express. As for his brother, Alfred certainly didn't make any move to contact his less visible twin. He certainly didn't want to talk to his obnoxious, annoying, thoughtless, callous, stupid, overbearing, arrogant, big headed, loser, moronic, American, idiotic-

"Ve, Matthew? Are you okay? You just stopped and clenched your fists and your eyes just twitched, ve~" Feliciano asked worriedly. The blonde First Year snapped back to reality, and tried to smile at Feliciano. Luckily the brunet seemed to be fooled and went back to excitedly babbling about different topics. The subject finally came to the Professor-Padma Patil, Ravenclaw alumni.

"I know that her parents are purebloods, ve~" Trying to contribute to the conversation, Matthew quickly added "She was in Dumbledore's Army, I think. At least, Hogwarts: A Self-Updating Version says so." They talked about the war, and their families. Feliciano's mother and father had died when he was rather young, and he and his brother were sent to live with their grandfather in Rome.

"I love it with my grandfather, ve~ He taught me the arts and how to cook! I was going to go to the school in Rome, but grandfather's friend convinced him to send me here along with Lovino!"

"Lovino, is that your brother?" Matthew asked him, desperate for anything to distract him., They were nearing the Transfiguration classroom.

"Yes~ He's in Slytherin though, so he can't be seen talking to me, or everyone else will pick on him, ve~ That's what Germania said. He's grandfather's friend." Feliciano said rather matter-of-factly. He didn't seem all that close to his brother either. When talking about his beloved grandfather, he never once mentioned his brother, the one who had seemed so close to Arthur.

He filed away the thought and gulped, coming back to his senses. They were right in front of the Transfiguration classroom.

Matthew nervously blinked and slowly walked in, choosing a seat in the front. Feliciano, still babbling, sat beside him.

Slowly, the Gryffindors wandered in, chatting loudly. Feliks came in and took the bench to the right of Matthew's and Feliciano's. He bitterly noticed that he happily talked to another Gryffindor, not once looking at the blonde Canadian. He clenched his fists, and Kumashina softly growled. Beside him, Feliciano's smile dropped, worried about his new friends.

Someone tapped on Matthew's shoulder and he quickly whirled around to see who it was. He met familiar brown eyes, and he relaxed. Carlos was sitting behind him along with his friend, the Korean First Year student. Said student excitedly beamed at him and did a small half bow.

"I'm Im Yong Soo, but in England it's Yong Soo Im! Im is my family name. You can call me Yong Soo!~ Pleased to meet you! Carlos told me that you're the twin brother of that idiot Alfred. Is it true? You look an awful lot like him! Except for the fact that you have a familiar and all. Is it really a polar bear? Oh, it is!" Yong Soo gasped at Kumaruma, who drank in the attention. Matthew blinked and tried to make order out of the sea of information.

"I-it's nice to meet you too, Yong Soo." Before the excited Asian could say anything, he was cut short by the arrival of the teacher, Professor Padma Patil. Her blue robes swished around her as she pivoted and faced the class.

"My name is Professor Padma Patil, and here I will be teaching you the art of Transfiguration. I will try my best not to be overly strict, but let me make this clear: I will not tolerate any rule breaking in my class, as it may lead to injuries. Ah, seems we have a rule breaker already." The class turned to look at a blushing Alfred, Toris trailing behind him.

"Maybe I should Transfigure one of you into a map...at least then there will only be one person interrupting my class." The Professor drawled, a long finger at the corner of her mouth. Alfred grew pinker with embarrassment.

Matthew decided he liked this teacher.

"We were late. It's not like that's a crime!" Alfred said in a huff, frowning. Professor Patil merely raised one eyebrow before waving her wand. The apple on her desk changed to a piece of chalk, and a quill became a black board. The chalk swiftly moved across the board, writing instructions on how to turn a matchstick into a needle.

"Now, the most important thing in Transfiguration is to visualize what you want. Picture a needle in your mind's eye and try to pronounce the incantation correctly. If you don't learn proper diction now, most of your spells when you are older will go awry." The Professor drawled, facing the class.

Matthew decided he really, really liked this teacher.

She did have a fabulous sense of humor after all.

With another wave of her wand, matchsticks appeared on everyone's desk. "Remember, visualization is the key!" He looked at his matchstick again, and back to the incantation. He visualized an embroidery needle from his mother's sewing kit, and said the incantation while squeezing his eyes shut. Opening his eyes, he saw that the matchstick had the form of a needle, but was still very much a matchstick. Sighing, he tried again. On the fourth try, he managed to get it right, smiling to himself.

He finally got the transfiguration right! Well, he had done the spell before, but that was besides the point. He looked happily at the finished result, and smiled.

"Looks like the rule breaker has it right! 5 points to Gryffindor!" The Professor said, pointing to Matthew's matchstick. He clenched his fists.

Well, if that didn't pop his happiness bubble like being compared to his brother, he didn't know what did.

He knew that he couldn't be lucky forever. He was bound to have at least one teacher forget who he was, right? Even if he was severely disappointed, given that she seemed so sharp during the class. He shouldn't be surprised. His head was bowed, and he lifted it, trying to look her squarely in the eye.

"I'm not Alfred."

"What? I'm afraid I can't hear you." She drawled, though it didn't sound malicious. Matthew didn't care, and he flushed with embarrassment.

"I'm not Alfred. I'm Matthew Williams, of House Williams, and I'm in Hufflepuff, not Gryffindor. Madam." He added, as a last minute attempt to be polite. Though he didn't think it would work as he was talking through gritted teeth.

To her credit, the Professor didn't get angry. Merely cocking her head to the side, she softly said "I see. Five points from Gryffindor and five-no, make that ten-points to Hufflepuff, Mr. Williams." As she turned around, he said "Why the extra five points?"

She turned her head towards him and said "You corrected me when I was wrong. I like that about you, Mr. Williams. Feel free to do it again if I mistake you for your twin." Professor Patil turned around and began helping students. Matthew relaxed, and smiled softly. He felt that it went well. He kept himself busy practicing the spell. His tutor had told him that, while he was gifted with subjects like Herbology, Astronomy, and Ancient Runes, his wandwork was weaker than his brother's.

Well, Alfred tended to put too much power into his spells, and he was rubbish at everything not involving a wand because he lacked the incentive to study.

He was cut off from his thoughts by a familiar whine. "Why didn't Gryffindor get five points?"

Ah, he had been wondering when his annoying, idiotic, younger-by-fifteen-minutes twin brother would speak up.

"It was because, oh dear brother of mine, I had gotten the transfiguration right, and she mistakenly awarded you the five points when it should have gone to me. I corrected her, and now the five points belong to Hufflepuff, where they belong." The teacher was rubbing off on him-he could feel himself copying her voice inflections. Alfred's jaw dropped, and Matthew hurriedly went back to his work before his brother could start a fight.

Well, one point to Matthew! Scoreboard: Matthew-10, Alfred-456.

"Mattie, wait up!" His brother huffed, trying to catch up to him. Weaving around students going to their next class, the blonde took full advantage of his invisibility to try and get away from his twin. Finally managing to lose him as he turned around the corner to go to Charms, the Canadian student heaved a sigh. Mission accomplished: He had successfully avoided his brother.

For now.

Alfred was incredibly stubborn. He couldn't avoid a confrontation forever...

But he could try.

DON'T KILL ME FOR STOPPING AT THE END OF THE DAY.

And please review~

If not the next chapter will take a while, because I work on inspiration and reviews inspire me.