The Great Divide (Hetalia x Reader)

The New Headmaster

The Great Divide
Chapter Seven
The New Headmaster

The dining hall once again felt warm and joyful as students of all ages flocked to their friends and to the food which appeared before them all as they took their seats.

The professors for every class sat at their tables, watching over the students as they poured in and found themselves a spot. While they all anticipated meeting the new Headmaster, none of them seemed to show that concern as they all sat tight lipped, more focused on the children and keeping order in the present than the future and what was to come.

The new fifth year prefects had, like every fifth-year prefect before them, gotten stuck on patrolling duty by the doors and alongside the walls while the older prefects quickly ate their dinner early back in the library.

Dylan and Analie were on opposite sides of the front doors, occasionally catching the other staring at the other out of boredom or curiosity as time went on. Meanwhile, Vladimir, who had arrived with Analie, now found himself caught up in conversation with Alfred, Arthur, Arin, and ______ at one of the Ailat tables near the front.

Since Darby was nowhere in sight, _____ had trouble hiding the anticipation painted across her face from those of her friends which knew her best. Vladimir, despite having drifted away over the summer and year previous, was the first to wave his hand in front of her face.

He laughed lightly as she jumped in her seat, focusing her attention on Vlad who wondered, "How are you?"

She smiled, lips closed as she gave two quick nods, "I'm fine. I'm just nervous." She said – the words escaping her lips before the realization that she wasn't supposed to know about the new Headmaster hit her.

"About what?" Arin asked, turning her own attention from Alfred who was carefully balancing grapes on top of each other over to _____.

"Nothing in peculiar, just about it being a new year and all. Don't worry about it." She replied, pushing aside the questions she had about what was to come. Wanting a change of topic, she commented, "It feels so odd for us all to be here again."

"Get used to it. We've got two more years of this- agh – No!" Alfred groaned, punching at the table lightly as the seven grapes he had stacked all lost balance and began bouncing off each other and rolling in all directions.

"I can't wait for this just to be over with. Not that I'm eager to start classes or anything, but us being forced to sit here and wait as all these smelly kids are brought in and introduced kinda makes me sleepy." Vladimir admitted as he looked around.

"You were once a smelly kid like that, remember?" _____ joked.

"No way, I was a cool kid." He huffed out before letting out a laugh.

"You're right about the 'was.' Shame your younger self isn't here so we can examine where you went wrong." _____ teased, causing everyone but Vladimir to burst out laughing.

He squinted jokingly at her and opened his mouth to joke back, but as he went to speak, _____'s attention was drawn by a figure who finally began to walk up to the front of the teacher's tables at the front of the dining hall.

In her distraction, she hadn't even noticed him as he had entered. When did he? She wondered to herself as she shushed Vladimir who, after dismissing his confusion, followed her gaze to the man in the front of the dining hall.

"Who's he?" He asked, his question answered moments later as the man cleared his throat before raising his wand to his throat to amplify his voice throughout the dining hall and over the sounds of the students.