Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter and co. they belong to JKR. I do,
however, own the rest of the story and any character not from the HP books.
Also, Russia was communist during the time this story was set, so if there
are any anachronisms or things that clearly would not happen in Communist
Russia, I'm sorry. Finally, considering that the Ivanov's are wizards,
they don't really get noticed by the Communists.
Katarina was lying on the floor of her room staring at the ceiling. She was thinking about the one thing that no one in her family could keep out of their minds: Her brother's death. She remembered it like it was yesterday. It had all happened so quickly. She had been walking home late one night, when she was attacked by a vicious muggle gang of thugs. She had been able to fend off two of them, but the other three were much bigger than she and she was unable to grab her wand to curse any of them. One of them had slashed her face with his pocketknife. She'd fallen to the ground, screaming in pain, while the thugs continued to beat her. Her brother had come along and seen that someone was in trouble. He paralyzed the three thugs attacking her with a charm and helped her to her feet.
"Katushka?" He'd asked. She had been nearly unrecognizable with all the blood streaming down her face. She didn't remember saying anything, only nodding numbly. She remembered leaning on his shoulder as they started to walk home. She remembered hearing people cursing behind her, and her brother turning around to face them. She remembered him screaming at her to run for it. She remembered running a little way up the street, before stopping and watching. She had seen her brother fend off the two thugs, but neither of them had seen nor heard a third one coming out of the shadows. She remembered screaming as soon as she heard the awful sound, but by then it was too late. The bullet had hit its mark and her brother had been left bleeding to death in the street. Murdered, she thought angrily, murdered by stupid muggles and their stupid muggle weapons. She didn't remember anything after that. And now, because of them and because of her stupidity, he was dead. He wasn't going to finish his final year at Hogwart's. He wasn't going to be there to protect her and do everything a big brother should like...
"Katarina!" A voice called from downstairs, breaking Katarina out of her thoughts. "We are leaving for London tonight, where are your things?" Katarina sighed as she looked around her room and realized that she had yet to pack.
"Almost finished mama." She quickly began throwing various things she needed for school into her trunk. She grabbed her wand off her dresser and said "Pack!" Everything else that she'd needed leaped messily into her trunk. She shoved it all down before closing the lid. She grabbed her owl's cage and began pushing her trunk out her door.
"Katarina!" Her mother shouted. "Don't push that heavy trunk around upstairs, you'll scuff up the floors."
"Alright mama." She flicked her wand and said "Locomotor Trunk." Her trunk lifted a foot off the ground and followed her down the stairs, where her mother was waiting.
"We're nearly late Katya. The train leaves in 4 hours." Katarina hated the train. It was full of muggles. But since it was too long a journey for broomsticks, too much luggage for the floo network, and Katarina couldn't apparate yet the train was their only option.
"Do we have to take the taxi again?" Katarina asked sullenly.
"Yes Katya." Her mother replied tiredly.
"I hate the taxi." She mumbled.
"Did you say something?" Her mother asked sternly.
"No mama. Are we leaving now?"
"Yes, as soon as your father comes downstairs." She replied. "Anton, the taxi will be here any minute." She called. A minute later Katarina's father appeared at the top of the stairs.
"Are you ready to go?" He asked, looking her straight in the eye.
"Yes papa. I have everything I need." Just then the taxi arrived and the Ivanov family filed in while the driver looked after their luggage. A few minutes later they were on their way to the train station. It wasn't too busy when they arrived 15 minutes later. It was unusual, as the trains were usually extremely crowded this time of year.
"We're on the train to Berlin. It'll be coming in on track 9. Do you have all your travel documents?" Katarina's mother asked her.
"Yes mama. I have everything." Katarina replied evenly. Her travel documents consisted of a fake birth certificate, fake passport, and fake 24- hour travel visa. Being a witch, she was never issued any of these by the Russian government and had obtained her current ones from an excellent wizard forger. The papers were all enchanted so that they would merely be looked at and returned immediately, without problems. The date on the travel visa was also enchanted and it changed to be whatever day you wanted it to be. Her parents each had the same. In the four years previous to this they had never had a problem and Katarina doubted they would now, but she kept her hand on her wand just in case. But, as usual there was nothing to worry about. Everything went smoothly, like it always had.
They arrived in London 2 days later and headed straight for the Leaky Cauldron, where they were staying until Katarina needed to leave for school. It wasn't until she arrived in her room that Katarina thought about school without her big brother. Even though they had been in different houses, she in Ravenclaw and he in Gryffindor, he'd always been there for her, protected her. It was going to be so hard, not having him around. With a sigh she crawled into bed and fell into an uneasy sleep.
The next morning Katarina went to go purchase her school supplies. Her parents had some other business to attend to, so she went alone. She didn't mind. She liked being alone. It gave her time to think. Unfortunately, when lost in her thoughts, she had a tendency to not pay attention to where she was going and today was no different. While walking to Flourish and Blotts to buy her books she walked right into someone.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I..." She began, looking up. "Oh, it's you." She said icily, upon realizing whom she had run into. "What are you doing here? It can't possibly be for books, as I've never seen you use one."
"Now, now Ivanova, is that any way to greet an old friend?" Sirius Black replied mockingly. Katarina merely glared at him.
"I have to go." She said, finally. "I, unlike you, actually care about getting all my books." With that she began walking off towards the bookstore. But, before she could get very far, Sirius grabbed her arm and pulled her around. "Yes? What do you want, Black?" She asked angrily.
"Well, if you are here, that means that your brother is also here. As he is Head Boy this year and a friend, I just wanted to give him fair warning about some of the things we've got planned for this year. So, where is he?"
"He's not here." Katarina replied. She turned to leave again, but Sirius wouldn't let her.
"So, where is he?" He asked again.
"Buried under six-feet of dirt in a box of maple." She answered. "He's dead, you idiot." She added, when Sirius gave her a confused look.
"Oh, I see." He said quietly as Katarina shook her arm out of his grip and walked off towards the bookstore. She walked as fast as she could, as she wanted to grab her books and other supplies quickly so that she could go back to her room at the Leaky Cauldron. However, today was not her day. It seemed that no matter where she went, she couldn't help running into people from school. She said hello politely to each of them, before making an excuse that she was late meeting her parents. She knew that if she'd talked to them any longer they'd inevitably ask about her brother and she just wasn't up to talking about him yet. Besides, they'd all find out when school started up again.
On her way back to her room she ran into one person that she couldn't give an excuse to, her friend Severus Snape. You could never make excuses with him, as he always seemed to know when someone was lying to him.
"Where are you going in such a hurry?" He asked as she nearly ran into him.
"Back to my room. I want some peace and quiet and I can't get it here." Katarina replied with a sigh.
"I see." He replied evenly. "Are you alright?"
"Not really, no." She said softly. "You see, my...my brother passed away this summer, and everyone has been asking about him, and I really don't know what to say because I don't want to tell them because I don't want their pity or their condolences."
"I understand. You have my word that I will not tell anyone."
"Thank you." Katarina returned with a faint smile. "I'm going to go back to my room now, but I will see you when school starts."
"Alright. See you then." He replied, before walking off. Katarina felt a little better after talking to him, but still desperately wanted to get back to her room. She shifted the bags she was carrying and broke into a run towards the Leaky Cauldron. She didn't stop until she was in her room and had locked the door. Once she had, she lay down on her bed and cried.
Katarina was lying on the floor of her room staring at the ceiling. She was thinking about the one thing that no one in her family could keep out of their minds: Her brother's death. She remembered it like it was yesterday. It had all happened so quickly. She had been walking home late one night, when she was attacked by a vicious muggle gang of thugs. She had been able to fend off two of them, but the other three were much bigger than she and she was unable to grab her wand to curse any of them. One of them had slashed her face with his pocketknife. She'd fallen to the ground, screaming in pain, while the thugs continued to beat her. Her brother had come along and seen that someone was in trouble. He paralyzed the three thugs attacking her with a charm and helped her to her feet.
"Katushka?" He'd asked. She had been nearly unrecognizable with all the blood streaming down her face. She didn't remember saying anything, only nodding numbly. She remembered leaning on his shoulder as they started to walk home. She remembered hearing people cursing behind her, and her brother turning around to face them. She remembered him screaming at her to run for it. She remembered running a little way up the street, before stopping and watching. She had seen her brother fend off the two thugs, but neither of them had seen nor heard a third one coming out of the shadows. She remembered screaming as soon as she heard the awful sound, but by then it was too late. The bullet had hit its mark and her brother had been left bleeding to death in the street. Murdered, she thought angrily, murdered by stupid muggles and their stupid muggle weapons. She didn't remember anything after that. And now, because of them and because of her stupidity, he was dead. He wasn't going to finish his final year at Hogwart's. He wasn't going to be there to protect her and do everything a big brother should like...
"Katarina!" A voice called from downstairs, breaking Katarina out of her thoughts. "We are leaving for London tonight, where are your things?" Katarina sighed as she looked around her room and realized that she had yet to pack.
"Almost finished mama." She quickly began throwing various things she needed for school into her trunk. She grabbed her wand off her dresser and said "Pack!" Everything else that she'd needed leaped messily into her trunk. She shoved it all down before closing the lid. She grabbed her owl's cage and began pushing her trunk out her door.
"Katarina!" Her mother shouted. "Don't push that heavy trunk around upstairs, you'll scuff up the floors."
"Alright mama." She flicked her wand and said "Locomotor Trunk." Her trunk lifted a foot off the ground and followed her down the stairs, where her mother was waiting.
"We're nearly late Katya. The train leaves in 4 hours." Katarina hated the train. It was full of muggles. But since it was too long a journey for broomsticks, too much luggage for the floo network, and Katarina couldn't apparate yet the train was their only option.
"Do we have to take the taxi again?" Katarina asked sullenly.
"Yes Katya." Her mother replied tiredly.
"I hate the taxi." She mumbled.
"Did you say something?" Her mother asked sternly.
"No mama. Are we leaving now?"
"Yes, as soon as your father comes downstairs." She replied. "Anton, the taxi will be here any minute." She called. A minute later Katarina's father appeared at the top of the stairs.
"Are you ready to go?" He asked, looking her straight in the eye.
"Yes papa. I have everything I need." Just then the taxi arrived and the Ivanov family filed in while the driver looked after their luggage. A few minutes later they were on their way to the train station. It wasn't too busy when they arrived 15 minutes later. It was unusual, as the trains were usually extremely crowded this time of year.
"We're on the train to Berlin. It'll be coming in on track 9. Do you have all your travel documents?" Katarina's mother asked her.
"Yes mama. I have everything." Katarina replied evenly. Her travel documents consisted of a fake birth certificate, fake passport, and fake 24- hour travel visa. Being a witch, she was never issued any of these by the Russian government and had obtained her current ones from an excellent wizard forger. The papers were all enchanted so that they would merely be looked at and returned immediately, without problems. The date on the travel visa was also enchanted and it changed to be whatever day you wanted it to be. Her parents each had the same. In the four years previous to this they had never had a problem and Katarina doubted they would now, but she kept her hand on her wand just in case. But, as usual there was nothing to worry about. Everything went smoothly, like it always had.
They arrived in London 2 days later and headed straight for the Leaky Cauldron, where they were staying until Katarina needed to leave for school. It wasn't until she arrived in her room that Katarina thought about school without her big brother. Even though they had been in different houses, she in Ravenclaw and he in Gryffindor, he'd always been there for her, protected her. It was going to be so hard, not having him around. With a sigh she crawled into bed and fell into an uneasy sleep.
The next morning Katarina went to go purchase her school supplies. Her parents had some other business to attend to, so she went alone. She didn't mind. She liked being alone. It gave her time to think. Unfortunately, when lost in her thoughts, she had a tendency to not pay attention to where she was going and today was no different. While walking to Flourish and Blotts to buy her books she walked right into someone.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I..." She began, looking up. "Oh, it's you." She said icily, upon realizing whom she had run into. "What are you doing here? It can't possibly be for books, as I've never seen you use one."
"Now, now Ivanova, is that any way to greet an old friend?" Sirius Black replied mockingly. Katarina merely glared at him.
"I have to go." She said, finally. "I, unlike you, actually care about getting all my books." With that she began walking off towards the bookstore. But, before she could get very far, Sirius grabbed her arm and pulled her around. "Yes? What do you want, Black?" She asked angrily.
"Well, if you are here, that means that your brother is also here. As he is Head Boy this year and a friend, I just wanted to give him fair warning about some of the things we've got planned for this year. So, where is he?"
"He's not here." Katarina replied. She turned to leave again, but Sirius wouldn't let her.
"So, where is he?" He asked again.
"Buried under six-feet of dirt in a box of maple." She answered. "He's dead, you idiot." She added, when Sirius gave her a confused look.
"Oh, I see." He said quietly as Katarina shook her arm out of his grip and walked off towards the bookstore. She walked as fast as she could, as she wanted to grab her books and other supplies quickly so that she could go back to her room at the Leaky Cauldron. However, today was not her day. It seemed that no matter where she went, she couldn't help running into people from school. She said hello politely to each of them, before making an excuse that she was late meeting her parents. She knew that if she'd talked to them any longer they'd inevitably ask about her brother and she just wasn't up to talking about him yet. Besides, they'd all find out when school started up again.
On her way back to her room she ran into one person that she couldn't give an excuse to, her friend Severus Snape. You could never make excuses with him, as he always seemed to know when someone was lying to him.
"Where are you going in such a hurry?" He asked as she nearly ran into him.
"Back to my room. I want some peace and quiet and I can't get it here." Katarina replied with a sigh.
"I see." He replied evenly. "Are you alright?"
"Not really, no." She said softly. "You see, my...my brother passed away this summer, and everyone has been asking about him, and I really don't know what to say because I don't want to tell them because I don't want their pity or their condolences."
"I understand. You have my word that I will not tell anyone."
"Thank you." Katarina returned with a faint smile. "I'm going to go back to my room now, but I will see you when school starts."
"Alright. See you then." He replied, before walking off. Katarina felt a little better after talking to him, but still desperately wanted to get back to her room. She shifted the bags she was carrying and broke into a run towards the Leaky Cauldron. She didn't stop until she was in her room and had locked the door. Once she had, she lay down on her bed and cried.