Hi guys! So for a long time, I've been thinking about coming back to writing and here I am. I've been super busy for the past year, but I doubt you want to hear anything of that.

What really got me back to writing was when I began to watch the first Harry Potter movie and all I could think of is America and England. I began to wonder what it would be like if they were in different houses, not just Gryffindor and Slytherin. That made me want to write them in every combination of houses.

So for my first story, I of course wrote them in my favorite combination: Gryffindor and Slytherin. If you have any ideas or combinations you would like to see next, feel free to tell me!

America: Gryffindor first year

England: Slytherin second year

Canada: Hufflepuff first year

Summary: Green and red are never supposed to mix, even if it is Christmas.

Enjoy~!

Christmas at Hogwarts was, for lack of a better word, magical.

For the entire month of December, Christmas-themed decorations were hung from around the castle. Everywhere from classrooms to common rooms had some sort of holiday themed decoration-whether they were enchanted or not. The entire Great Hall was, too, decked in every clashing shade of green and red to celebrate. Even the fake sky sprinkled little snowflakes to match the season. However, The most amazing part was the grand Christmas tree that stood tall and proud near the front of the hall. The tree was decked in a random assortment of ornaments and treats with an enormous gleaming star at the top. If all of that didn't get someone in the holiday mood, then absolutely nothing would.

And, it surely did get everyone ready for the holidays. In the spirit of the holidays, the professors were unusually cheery and went as far as rewarding extra house points for good behavior. In turn, students were also abnormally cheerful. All month, students were buzzing about holiday plans; everything from traveling to a country home in France to just going back home could be heard around the castle. Rarely anyone would actually spend Christmas at Hogwarts, save for the prefects and a few students who could not return. Most students would rather go home or to Hogsmede to celebrate the holiday season than ruin their holiday at boring old school.

However, staying at a boring old school for the holidays hardly stopped the Jones twins from celebrating. Unlike others who stayed, the Jones twins did not stay to study. Rather, the boys lived too far for two weeks to be worth the broom ride and had no family in the United Kingdom. No, the Jones boys would hardly have a terrible Christmas stuck at Hogwarts.

"Mattie! Come on! Wake up!" Alfred, the older of the two brothers, exclaimed. And while he was the older brother, Alfred was more excitable, especially when it came to Christmas. He couldn't wait to open presents and went as far as to sneak into his brother's room and wake him up. It was the most wonderful time of the year, after all; except maybe second to their birthday.

The younger of the two boys, however, didn't share his brother's holiday enthusiasm. He didn't particularly like waking up early, even with the promise of presents, and instead turned over in his sleep.

"Mm, Alfred?" Matthew mumbled, still partially asleep.

"Wake up it's Christmas!" Alfred exclaimed cheerfully. He plopped down on Matthew's bed, successfully shifting the weight of the bed. That surely woke his brother.

"Alfred? How did you get in here?" the other boy asked, rubbing his eyes. He was having a wonderful dream about becoming prefect and winning the House Cup. The absolute last thing he wanted was to be woken up by his loud brother. Christmas or not.

"Everyone knows the Hufflepuff password, Mattie! Duh! Something about being inclusive or something stupid. You know how Hufflepuff is. They never want to upset anyone 'cause they're so nice." Matthew groaned internally. Curse his house for being so nice. In the past, Hufflepuff would keep their dormitory secret, but apparently that went against the ideals of the Hufflepuff house. However, the passwords were supposed protect their privacy and, in Matthew's case, prevent Alfred from waking his up at who knows what hour.

"And what time is it?" Mattie asked. He suspected it was early, far too early to be awake. Dawn had yet to break and the moon was still high in the navy sky; it was definitely too early.

"Six something," Alfred said proudly, as if he wasn't fazed by the fact that it was far too early to be functional.

"Go back to sleep," Matthew groaned. He rolled over to his stomach in a feeble attempt to ignore his annoying brother. Matthew couldn't care less if it was Christmas; he was not a morning person in the slightest. He would often miss breakfast just to get a few more minutes of well-deserved rest.

Personality wise, the two twins were different as day and night. Alfred was a loud Gryffindor who always tried to do something heroic while Matthew was a reserved Hufflepuff who always tried to include everyone. Despite their personality difference, they looked extremely similar, at least close enough to fool their professors. They both shared the same golden blond hair and gray wired glasses. Sure there were a few subtleties - for instance, Matthew had a lighter shade of eyes and waiver than Alfred - but it surely wasn't obvious enough.

"No!" Alfred pouted. He turned his brother onto his back and began to tug on the gingham covers, allowing the cold December air to wake his brother.

"Stop annoying me! I want to sleep!"

"No, you've gotta come! Please Mattie! If you don't come I'll do something really bad! I'll take your presents," Alfred warned, tugging on his pajama sleeve. He knew if he kept nagging his brother, he would surely agree to whatever he said.

"Why won't you go alone? Is there a ghost or something you're afraid of?"

"N-No!" Alfred denied. Except for Matthew and his parents, nobody knew of Alfred's fear of ghosts. He was trying to conquer his fears with so many ghosts flying around Hogwarts constantly, but he still got scared whenever one of the ghosts were near. He couldn't help it that he feared anything he couldn't beat up! "I just wanted it to be like a normal Christmas. Like with mom and dad. Yeah, that's it. It has nothing to do with ghosts!"

Matthew let out a long breath. He supposed that he was already awake and that if he went down now, Alfred would leave him alone later. He really needed to study some transfiguration spells since he barely got a passing grade last semester.

"Fine," Matthew sighed in defeat. He couldn't win against his brother. He was too determined to win with those big blue eyes and pouty lips. No, it was impossible to say no, even if it did mean losing sleep. "But I'm going to get dressed, unlike you."

"But you have to go down to Christmas in your pajamas! It's a tradition," Alfred protested. Since classes weren't in session, students were allowed to wear whatever they pleased, and for Alfred, that consisted of his super hero pajamas.

"Don't make me change my mind," Matthew warned, although it lacked any real bite.

"Fine," Alfred exhaled dramatically.

"Now get out so I can go change! I'll be right behind you!"

"Yes sir!"

From the Hufflepuff dorm to the Great Hall was a small walk. Hufflepuffs always did luck out with their location: they were the closest to the all of the classes, the Great Hall, and more importantly the kitchen. It's not that Alfred didn't like being high up in the tower, heavens no. But it was always a far walk to the Great Hall and all of his classes and he would always see so many ghosts.

During his entire first semester at Hogwarts, Alfred had never seen the Great Hall as empty as it was (albeit it was six in the morning but it would always have at least some students wondering about). Aside from Alfred, there was only one boy who appeared to be sleeping at the table on the far right.

"Hey dude! Did you fall asleep waiting for Santa?" Alfred asked, approaching the young boy.

The boy stirred a bit as Alfred got a better view. He seemed to be the same age as him. He had golden blond hair that was quite messy, but hardly unattractive. His face wasn't too bad looking either with a rather sharp nose and pink lips. However, his most unique feature was his thick, distinguished eyebrows that could've been mistaken for caterpillars. Alfred didn't recognize the student, he would surely recognize such ugly eyebrows, but that didn't stop him from approaching him.

"Ugh, must you be so loud?" the boy mumbled with a yawn.

"Well you were asleep waiting for Santa so I had to wake you. It's what heroes do!"

"I was not asleep and I was surely not waiting for Santa Claus. I'm not a child. Santa Claus isn't real, no offence. No, I was merely studying," the young boy protested, despite the fact that he had fallen asleep on top of his book. He was studying quite late and for a long period of time, but he didn't think he would actually fall asleep in the Great Hall.

"Studying over break? Wow, that's intense," Alfred admired with wide eyes. Breaks weren't for studying! Breaks were for having fun!

"Some of us actually care about studying and grades. And I have a reputation to uphold," he replied coldly while dusting off his large gray sweater absentmindedly.

"Sounds cool! What were you studying?" Alfred asked, as if he didn't notice the other boy's distaste for him.

"Magical creatures," he said proudly. Care for Magical Creatures was his favorite subject to learn about. He didn't like potions and charms to begin with seeing as he would always burn the potion or pronounce the charm wrong. But Care for Magical Creatures came naturally to him. He could spend days on end reading books about unicorns and fairies and pixies back at home. And, now, he finally had the chance to take care of such creatures. Nothing excited him more than actually taking care of a magical creature. It was surely a dream come true.

"Ugh, sounds boring! No wonder you fell asleep! I would too! I thought you'd be studying something cool like Defense Against the Dark Arts, not something as boring as Magical Creatures!"

"Magical creatures aren't boring!" he protested. Honestly, he could not fathom a reason why everyone claimed magical creatures were boring. If you asked him, he would say Defense Against the Dark Arts was boring. Honestly, he couldn't help it that he was tired and fell asleep, but not because it was boring. "And I wasn't sleeping."

"Whatever, you were totally sleeping 'cause Care for Magical Creatures is so boring!"

"No it's not!" Arthur shouted.

"Yes it is!"

"Alfred! There you are!" Matthew interrupted before the green-eyes blond could unleash his wrath. And surely he would, seeing that his face turned a deep shade of red and his fists ball up until his knuckles turned white. It was wonder he even controlled his infamous temper this much around the infuriating Gryffindor.

Matthew turned his attention from Alfred to the other student. "I apologize if my brother bothered you. He's not usually this..."

"-Obnoxious?" he answered for Matthew, still scowling at Alfred.

"I was going to say childish," Matthew corrected, smoothly.

"Mattie!" Alfred exclaimed and stuck out his tongue quite childishly in a feeble attempt to hide his blush. He was the older twin (by two minutes, mind you) and he wasn't going to let his little brother call him childish. Sure he was afraid of ghosts and anything that had to do with Halloween, but that was as childish as Matthew. If anything, his younger brother cried more than Alfred. Plus, he still had a white teddy bear that he slept with at night. If that wasn't childish, Alfred didn't know what was. "I'm not a child!"

"Are too!"

"Well it was nice to meet you Mattie and…I'm sorry I never got your name," the green-eyed blond interrupted.

"Alfred."

"Mhm yes," the green-eyed blond said. He noticeably calmed down - his face was no longer a deep shade of red - although there was still a bite to his words. "I'm Arthur, Arthur Kirkland, and I should be going back to my room for some rest. I guess I have been studying for far too long. I'm starting to get a headache. I guess I should thank you for waking me."

"Don't you want to get your Christmas presents!?"

"Presents?" Arthur shook his head remembering that it was, indeed, the holiday time. "Oh that's why you're here? For your presents?" He hadn't even thought about presents or even Christmas at all, not that his parents were going to send him presents anyways. He never saw Christmas as being such as big deal when growing up and he supposed it was a much bigger deal in the States than by him.

"Yeah! Presents are the best part of Christmas! Since I can't play my X-box here, I'm hoping I get a broom!" Alfred said excitedly with a large smile plastering his face. He has wanted and asked for a broom for three years now. He was completely smitten with the idea of flying (aside from in an airplane) ever since his first broom ride. However, his parents said he was still too irresponsible to have his own broom and that he would probably fly it into a tree. He was eleven years d and living on his own in a different country, he was surely responsible enough to have his own broom now.

"You can't have a broom," Arthur stated and rolled his eyes at Alfred's silly desire.

"And why not?" Alfred pouted and crossed his arms across his chest. Having waited so long for a broom, he wasn't about to let another person, especially someone as stuck-up and irritating as Arthur, tell him that he couldn't have a broom.

"First years aren't allowed brooms."

"Not fair!" Alfred pouted, puffing out his bottom lip. "How am I supposed to be a hero if I can't even fly? All the great super heroes fly!"

"Captain America doesn't fly," Matthew pointed out. "And he's your favorite."

"Mm that's true," Alfred agreed, still sulking. Although he was still sad about not being able to fly yet, knowing that his favorite super hero couldn't fly either made him just a bit happier.

"Well you don't need to fly to be a hero. You can even start now, and help me carry my books to my room. That's heroic," Arthur said, looking down at his pile of books. He had already scooped up two of his large books into his hands, but there were still five more stacked on the table. There was no way he could get them all to his room when he was so exhausted.

"If that makes me a hero, then I'll be your hero Artie! That's what Gryffindors do! They help those in need! Plus it's not that far! It's next to the library, right?"

"The library?" Arthur asked, furrowing his large eyebrows. Everyone knew the Slytherin common room was in the basement (or as Gryffindors called it: the dungeon), not near the library.

"Yup! Isn't that were Ravenclaw dorm is? That's what I've been told! It's not as close as Hufflepuff but it's definitely closer than Gryffindor-"

"Ravenclaw?" Arthur asked, interrupting Alfred's nonsense. Realization dawned on Arthur's green eyes. Alfred actually believed he was in Ravenclaw. Oh boy, was Alfred going to be in for a surprise.

"Well yeah! You were studying a lot! That's what Ravenclaw do, 'cause they're so smart! Like you! And they like boring stuff like Care for Magical Creatures. Ew. And I haven't ever seen you in my dorm or Mattie's. And you can't be in Slytherin-"

"And why not?" Arthur retorted and shifted his weight onto his right leg.

"Because Slytherin is evil!"

"We're not evil!" Sure it just so happened that a lot people who ended up being evil were in Slytherin, but that was merely a coincidence. Arthur couldn't help it that those who were determined to get what they wanted might not have always used the best methods. It simply wasn't fair to generalize an entire House based on a few people.

"No way! You're in Slytherin!? Ew!" Immediately, he dropped his stack of Arthur's books to the ground. Arthur stared in horror. He loved his books and to see them thrown on the ground with their spines bent and pages crumpled was absolutely devastating.

"Don't treat my books like that!" Arthur scolded and scurried to grab his books from the floor. He could only hope that the books did not get any damages, for Alfred's sake, that is. So much for getting someone else to carry his books.

"And yes, I am a Slytherin," Arthur stated proudly as he stood up, and even puffed out his chest a bit. "I can't believe you're dimwitted enough to think I'm in Ravenclaw."

"I'm not dim witted! You tricked me, you snake! You were studying. That's such a Ravenclaw thing! Only Ravenclaws would ruin their break by studying so I just assumed..."

"Well you should stop assuming these things," Arthur chastised wobbling a bit as he tried to balance his books. "The houses are hardly one trait. You can be smart and be in Slytherin. Being in Slytherin means you're determined, and cunning, not evil."

"Then why are all the evil guys in Slytherin? Huh? Answer that!"

"There are many evil people in the other houses! Take Wormtail, he was from Gryffindor."

"That's only one person. We have lots of heroes like Dumbledore and Harry Potter and all those people!"

"Only because Gryffindors are loud and obnoxious and steal the spotlight," Arthur sneered. "You forget that great wizards like Merlin were actually in Slytherin because Gryffindor loves to forget about that."

"And Hengist of Woodcroft was a Hufflepuff," Matthew said, although that went unnoticed.

"Yeah well that was a thousand years ago," Alfred scoffed.

"That's such a Gryffindor thing to say. Honestly! And you call yourselves heroes," Arthur retorted. He didn't particularly like Gryffindors to begin with as they were too loud for his liking, and it proved even more evident with Alfred.

"Anything a Gryffindor does is heroic!"

"Putting others down for your own personal gain is hardly heroic! I'd even say it's quite villainous," Arthur worded carefully. He knew that this would rile up the Gryffindor boy, and for some reason, he felt like he needed to antagonize the little so-called hero. Someone had to.

"I'm not a villain, you are!"

Arthur laughed at this. "Well, if you ever need a villain to talk some sense into you, you know where to find me," Arthur said, turning on his heel.

"Well if you ever need a super heroic hero to fix that hex on your ugly eyebrows, you know where to find me. But I should warn you, the hero always wins."

To be continued...?