Disclaimer: I don't own APH.

Happy Canada Day to all other Canadians out there, and Happy Early Independence Day to all you Americans.

Happy (really early) Bastille Day to any French out there.

Okay, this is getting ridiculous. Let's get to the story already.

Notice-Me-Not

"Excuse me! Excuse me, sir!"

Canada ignored the voice. No one ever noticed him- ever saw him, even. There was no way that the voice was directed towards him. Besides, he needed to get to the office he worked at quickly- he was already late.

A hand clasped onto his shoulder. Canada stopped walking and stared at the hand in mute shock.

"Sir, are you aware that there is a Notice-Me-Not charm cast upon you?"

Canada turned around and stared intently – and rather rudely- at the man who had stopped him.

"You… y-you can see me?" Canada said, a stammer entering his voice.

The man scowled. He was a thinly built man, with slightly Oriental features. He probably had Asian relatives. Mid-aged, his brown hair was just beginning to thin out and fade into grey.

"Yes, I can see you," the man snapped. "Difficultly, but yes. I'm an Auror. Steven Wetherington's the name. Now, care to explain to me why you have a strong Notice-Me-Not charm on you? Typically, the only reason you would've cast that spell is to commit a crime of some sort."

Canada gulped. The proximity of the man- Steven – was making him nervous.

"And of course, as an Auror, it's my job to keep wizards and witches from committing crimes… or to stop them."

His eyes narrowed while saying the last words.

"I'm not- you have tests for this sort of thing, right?" Canada said desperately. "I'm not a wizard, I'm a Muggle!"

"And why would a Muggle know about the wizarding world?" Wetherington demanded.

"My…" Canada trailed off. He wasn't sure what to call England. Father… no. Older brother maybe? But then again, it would be harder to explain away their different nationalities if he were asked to bring the Auror to his older brother. So that left…

"… uncle. My uncle, he's a wizard. A pretty crappy one, too," Canada explained. "I wouldn't be surprised if he accidentally cast that Notice-Me-Not while trying to do a cleaning spell or something."

Wetherington scowled, his face revealing how skeptical he was of Canada's story. He grabbed onto Canada's arm rather tightly.

"Come with me. I can't take out my wand around a bunch of Muggles," Wetherington snapped. "Xtern Alley is a few blocks away from here. What's your name?"

"Mathew… Mathew Will-, uh, Williamston." Canada answered. Hopefully, he would be able to get out of this situation without revealing his identity. As wizards and witches were aware of magical creatures, it would be a catastrophe if a wizard or witch thought that a country was a vampire or some other long-living creature. As such, all young wizards and witches were taught about the countries and their respective aliases. There was even a spell to check if one was really a country. However, they were only supposed to reveal their identity in emergencies.

But then again, most countries weren't even aware of their magical community. The only reason he was aware was because he apparently had some magical talent.

Back to the point on hand, Wetherington dragged Canada over to Xtern Alley, the magical alley of Toronto. As soon as they crossed the threshold, Wetherington whipped out his wand and cast the necessary spell. They received some strange looks from the wizards and witches

"… It appears as though you haven't cast a spell in your life, despite the fact that you have the capacity to do so," Wetherington commented. "I suppose you decided against a magical life?"

"Yes," Canada answered. It was technically true.

"Let me remove the Notice-Me-Not charm on you," Wetherington said, his voice losing a little bit of its harsh tone now that he knew that Canada wasn't planning to commit a crime. He waved his wand and muttered the counter-spell under his breath. "Now, you said that your uncle cast this spell on you? Casting a spell on a Muggle- and since you never learned magic, you're classified as a Muggle- is a serious offense. What did you say your uncle's name was?"

Canada let out a nervous laugh. "Really, it's fine. No need to press charges. Besides, I'm pretty sure he cast that spell when I was… really young. I've always been ignored, for almost as long as I can remember. I'm just glad that it's off of me now."

Wetherington's face grew angrier and angrier at each word. "If that spell was on you for that long, then that's even more reason to press charges. Now tell me your uncle's name."

Canada decided to tell a half-truth. "It's useless. My uncle's not Canadian- he's English. An English pureblood."

"No one likes those stuck-ups over here." Wetherington waved Canada's worries away. "With a few choice words to the English, it won't be hard to get your uncle over here and convicted."

"Look, I'm very sorry, Mr. Wetherington," Canada apologized. "But it really is impossible. I would rather not press charges on him anyways."

"This isn't just a matter of crimes against you," Wetherington snapped. "It's possible that your uncle has cast other spells- more dangerous spells- on others. Tell me your uncle's name, or I'll assume you've been lying and be forced to take you in."

Canada let out a sigh. If it came to this, he had no choice but to reveal his identity.

"My… uncle's… name is Arthur Kirkland," Canada answered, waiting for Wetherington to put the pieces together.

Wetherington took out a notebook and wrote down the name. "Arthur Kirkland? That name sounds familiar."

His eyebrows furrowed as he tried to remember where he had heard the name before.

"Really?" Canada said innocently. "Well, can I leave now? I've got work."

"I still need to ask you some more quest-" Wetherington cut himself off, his eyes widening. "Arthur Kirkland? As in England? You must think that I'm some sort of idiot- wait, you said your name was Mathew Williamston?"

Canada gave Wetherington a small nod.

"You must think that I'm some sort of idiot," Wetherington repeated. His next words took on a sarcastic tone. "Nice name."

Canada gave Wetherington a small, weak smile. "No. I don't think you're an idiot. I'm just being truthful. Why don't you try out Regionem Manufesto?"

Wetherington raised an eyebrow, an obviously skeptical look on his face. He cast the verification spell, letting off a few green sparks. At the sight of the positive result, the skeptical look melted away into a look of awe.

"I'm very sorry, Mr. Williams, I didn't realize," Wetherington apologized profusely. "You can go on your way now. Again, I must apologize."

"D-don't worry about it. You couldn't have known," Canada said softly. "I should be thanking you, for getting rid of that Notice-Me-Not. Eng- Arthur is pretty much a crap wizard. I'm sure he didn't mean to cast that on me."

"Give him a piece of your mind," Wetherington advised. "It's true that he's untouchable, but even if it was an accident, he needs to be punished somehow."

"Don't worry, I will," Canada said, more trying to convince himself than Wetherington. "I'll be going now."

"Oh, yes, feel free," Wetherington said quickly. "Just kick the blue rock on the ground back at the wall to get outside."

"Thank you." Canada smiled. "Sorry for all the trouble I've caused you. I trust you'll keep this quiet?"

"Yes, of course," Wetherington replied.

Canada headed outside, sighing.

On the bright side, he wouldn't be ignored anymore.

On the down side, England was the cause of all his troubles for the past hundred-odd years- and he probably wouldn't even have the guts to call him out for it.

Wow, I'm actually being nice to an APH character. Well, sort of.