Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Harry Potter characters like Krum, J.K. owns them, but Adriana, Kristoff, Q, Blaze, Derek, and Pulchra are totally mine. I shall own them forever.
And a note for you: this takes place during the third book, which should clarify some issues.
Chapter 1 Home Again
The castle of Durmstrang Institute looked the same as it had the passed four years. The barren four story school with the many peaking towers and chimneys that already poured out smoke into the cool mountain air. The vast grounds that included a slightly oversized Quidditch field, a large clear blue lake, the mountains on their back doorstep, and the deep woods. And many small places in between to stop: the courtyard, the greenhouse, the large chess set, and the many scattered picnic tables and trees to sit under. The clouds were scattered, pouring light into the bare castle that housed its five hundred students.
"Only two more years to suffer through," said Adriana, lifting her head off of Kris' chest. She looked up into his hazel eyes and then once more out of the window. Durmstrang Institute. Sounded more like a prison for the criminally insane. Close enough for most of the kids that attended. But she had made friends, fallen in love, and made enemies there. It was more home for her than any place else.
"Come on, you two," called a voice from the hall of the train, "We're here!"
Adriana hadn't even realized that the train had stopped moving. She slowly got up and straightened out her dark red robes and threw on her coat. It always took a couple days to get used to the cold. They walked out of their small car and down the hall, Kris taking her hand from behind. She grasped it tightly, her own small, slender hand fitting into his large hand.
They walked off of the train, passing by all of the first years that had come and admired the castle. They really didn't know what they were getting themselves into. She and Kris walked hand in hand toward the looming castle and entered the large doors as they swung open for the students who passed through.
The dimly lit halls were illuminated mostly by the light that shone from the windows, but there were a few torches lit, as usual for the newer students who were still used to a lighter environment. The castle was scarcely decorated, not as lustrous as most. There were several pictures of past headmasters hanging on the entrance hall, with a few lit candelabras to light the way as well. No multitude of pictures or armor suits lining the hall.
They walked through behind the sixth year students, and entered the great grand hall. Candelabras and torches lined the pillars that shot up from the ground, making the room seem extra bright compared to the rest of the school. Four great mahogany tables were set up. One was the teacher's table off to the side, where Igor Karkaroff, their headmaster and former Death Eater, sat with the rest of the teachers. Professor Vivian Pulchra from Dark Arts class sat beside Karkaroff, her blonde hair draped about her shoulders, her blue yes staring out at the students. Her eyes fixed on Adriana, and she smiled. Adriana nodded and continued observing the tables.
The three table were set according to the rank each student received from arriving, and your were set with that rank for all six years at the school. The rank of each student consisted of character, ability, and aptitude. The highest on the chain of ranks was Isaura, of which Adriana was herself. And Kris. Not only were they some of the most intelligent, but they were some of the most conniving, creative, dark, and witty. The second was Kaelin. They were some of the more wise characters, not out to do as much evil as giving advice. Because of this, they were also very intelligent. The last of the ranks was Pyralis. The headstrong of the ranks. They were always up for something, extremely lively and jovial, and also extremely moody. Adriana had a habit of not liking the people of Pyralis.
She and Kris took a seat at the Isaura table, among friends. Blaze, Derek, and Q sat around them, along with Adriana's friendly rival, the ever-so-famous Viktor Krum. They were both competing in the upcoming Quidditch World Cup, Viktor playing for the Bulgarians, and Adriana playing for the Irish. She was determined to beat him.
"So, you two still going out?" asked Blaze from across the table, his deep red hair and brown eyes turned to the two. Adriana quirked her eyebrow at him. Did he even have to ask?
Q laughed at her. Quanta Jules. She had been Adriana's best friend since the first day of school, the only one who had come to speak to her on the train ride to the school, she was in her year and was great to be around. Her straight brown hair was pulled back into a pony tail as it was everyday, her long bangs hanging out around her light brown eyes, her skin was tanned and smooth as ever.
"Can't you see they are?" said Derek, his green eyes falling upon Kris and Adriana's hands entwined on top of the table. "Are you blind, Blaze?"
"Bloody hell, how was I supposed to know?" said Blaze, hanging his head down, twiddling his knobby fingers carefully.
"You guys, look at the wave of newbies," said Kris, suddenly turning to the line of incoming first-years. Adriana saw the line of kids and the nervous looks that were on their faces as they proceeded to the head of the hall to be judged. She remembered the first time that she had done that. She had been nervous, but not as nervous as most would have been. Being put into your rank wasn't as nerve-racking as you thought it to be when you first arrived. All they did was cast some sort of thick liquid onto you, just a couple drops, and waited to see what happened. Each rank had a certain symbol that went with it. Isaura was a tornado, or air. Kaelin was water, or a waterfall. Pyralis was fire or a volcano. Whatever it was, a tornado, waterfall, or volcano that appeared over your head was what rank you were. Quick, effective way to get things done and over with.
Karkaroff stood from behind the teacher's table and the hall was instantly quiet and free from sound. He was dressed in his dark black robes, as usual, and his graying black hair and beard fell about his shoulders.
"I'd like to welcome everyone back from their break," he started, "And I'd like to welcome all of our new students to Durmstrang Institute of Magic. You are the privileged and worthy of being here. We will begin the night with ranking. Welcome, everyone!"
Clapping erupted in the hall, and Karkaroff took a seat once more as Professor Orin started shouting out names. Orin was the Herbology teacher, tall and lanky with the oversized eyeglasses that constantly slipped down his large nose.
"Abalin, Patty," he called out. A small girl with large blue eyes, and straw blonde hair stepped up slowly. Orin dropped two droplets of liquid onto her head, and a small waterfall appeared above her head. "Kaelin," said Orin, and directed the girl to the Kaelin table, where she was greeted warmly.
"So, you worried about the Cup?" asked Derek quietly, trying to keep his voice low. Adriana turned to him and shook her head.
"No, not really," she said. "We have practice about everyday after school this week, then we have off the day before to get some rest."
"Come on," said Derek, "You're not worried about going up against Krum?"
Adriana looked at Krum, who sat two people away from Blaze. His grey eyes were focused upon her, and Adriana smiled at his strong jaw, dark eyebrows, and nearly shaven head.
"Why should I be?" she asked, turning back to Derek. "We're basically equals in this sport, and we know what each other can do. I'm pretty sure we're both up for a little friendly competition."
"To the extreme," said Kris beside her. "Karkaroff's giving us the latter part of next week off to go see it. You know how proud he is to have two of his students playing in the QWC."
"Tell me about it," said Adriana. "What do you want to bet that he'll mention it in his spiel? And then he's going to drag us up there and embarrass us."
"I'm not going for that," said Blaze, "You know he's going to talk about you two. Everything's always Winter and Krum, Winter and Krum. When will it not be about you?"
"When one of us dies," said Viktor from down the table. Adriana laughed. He not only was a great Seeker, but also was a great joker.
"No," laughed Adriana, "then all the talk will be about how Adriana Winter has died and how everyone is going to the funeral, and how Viktor Krum is mourning the loss. I still think that talk will about one – if not both – of us for a long time in the Quidditch world."
"What a nightmare," said Viktor. He and Adriana both burst into laughter. Adriana was instantly silenced when she caught a glance from Vivian at the teacher's table. Viktor quieted also, and their conversation was staggered for a while. Viktor was an awesome guy, also in her year. Extremely handsome, always on the run from girls, just as she was from the boys, but now that she had Kris…
After a while, the ranking had ended, and Karkaroff stood once more to make his beginning of the year speech. "Now that we are all in our ranks and comfortable, I'd like to first congratulate two of our fifth year students on a great victory. These two students are to compete in the Quidditch World Cup next weekend, and I'm giving you from Wednesday to Monday off to go and enjoy watching your fellow school mates play in this wondrous event. I'd like them to stand, if they would. Viktor Krum and Adriana Winter!"
Adriana rolled her eyes and smirked at her friends and rose swiftly as Krum did, and they received great applause. They quickly sat back down and shook their heads.
"Thank you," said Karkaroff continuing, "All of your baggage has been moved into the dorm towers, and your head person will lead you to the dorm and provide you with the appropriate password after everyone has finished eating. I welcome you all once more back to Durmstrang and enjoy the feast!"
With those words, food instantly appeared on the tables. Chicken, ribs, any kind of meat you could of, with an even bigger number of side dishes. Adriana quickly filled her large plate and began to eat. She had eaten nothing on the train and was starving. She looked up at Blaze, who was staring at her eating.
"What?" she said, her mouth stuffed with potatoes. She swallowed quickly and looked around. "What's the matter? Is there a gnome on my head or something?"
"They're amazed you're eating so much," said Kris, shoving his fork into his mouth.
"What? You guys know I eat a lot," said Adriana. "I'm skinny, but hell, in four years, you haven't seen me eat this much. I can't say I eat as much as Vik over there, but I come pretty close. Lots of energy for working out."
Adriana was greeted with no replies, and continued eating once again. Every time she glanced up at the teachers' table, she saw that Vivian was looking at her, giving her this odd look that she couldn't place. Vivian Pulchra was the greatest teacher that Adriana had. She was young, had a dark sense of humor, vibrant, and let the students call her by her first name. As she ate and felt that gaze upon her, Adriana had the growing feeling that something was going to happen soon.
Something bad….
The feast had ended and all of the students were starting to leave. Isaura first, then Kaelin, then Pyralis as was the custom on the first day, just for a little order. Adriana rose with the rest of her table and walked beside Kris as they started to make their way to the Closet. The Closets were the room in which all the students of a rank could sit and chat before heading up to the dorm towers.
They left the Hall behind along with Norm Preacher, the head boy who had the responsibility of showing the first years around the castle and giving them the years new password. Every year their password had been some type of animal. The password for their fifth year was 'Lethifold.'
Adriana walked beside Kris through the plain halls, with only a few pictures to watch them go by. They walked side by side, Derek, Blaze, Q, and Viktor following behind. Soon enough, they heard squealing from behind. Adriana turned and saw a large group of first year girls, and a group of second year boys behind them, running toward them. Viktor cast an exhausted look at her and he started running. Adriana took one last look back at the quickly approaching students and realized how close they really were.
"See you guys in the Closet!" she yelled to her friends and took off behind Viktor. Viktor was as graceful on the ground as he was in the air, as was she. They ran swiftly through the halls, navigated their way quietly to the small door at the west wing of the fourth floor. They bolted up the stairs, the squealing girls and boys following behind closely.
They ran down the west hallway and ran to a wall at the end of the hall that had a small tornado marking on the center of the wall with a small picture of a man looking down above it and stopped.
"Lethifold!" said Adriana, watching as the kids approached them quickly, running and tripping over each other's feet and long coats. A door appeared in the wall and swung open for them, and they threw themselves inside, the door closing tightly behind them.
The Closet wasn't, as Adriana had thought when she first came, the size of a closet. It was a huge room with a blazing fireplace roaring in the center of the room, the walls decorated with several pictures and black, silver, and purple curtains and candles, giving the room a soft light. A piano sat in the near corner of the room, placed there by her and several other students' request, and several couches and chairs were placed around the fire on soft black carpets. The windows didn't give much light, and the sky was getting darker. The sun was setting.
Adriana fell laughing onto the piano bench while Viktor sat on the couch nearest the piano. "Bloody kids," said Adriana, striking a chord on the piano. She had always gotten good acoustics in the room, and frequently snuck down in the night to play it.
"First day blues, as usual," said Viktor, sprawling out on the couch, his muscular body taking up most of it. "So, you're not worried about the Cup?"
Adriana struck another chord on the piano, this time dark. "No," she replied, turning to face him. "What's there to be worried about? It's just another game, just with more screaming fans is all. We have practice tomorrow."
"Right," said Viktor. "So do we. Three o'clock."
"Six," replied Adriana. Three hours practices for the both of them. They had both been provided a portkey that would take them to the field for practice that had been given to Orin for safekeeping. They would go to him when it was time for their practice and he would give it to them.
"I'm just going to go up to the dorms," said Viktor, rising from the couch and walking to the spiral staircase on the left. "First pick."
"Good idea," said Adriana jumping up and headed to the staircase on the right. "See you later, Vik."
"Later, Adri," said Viktor. Adriana walked up the steel spiral stairs up into the girls' dorm area. Chests were lying at the foot of every bed, as she spotted her own at the very last bunk bed, with the empty cage of Percy lying in a corner. Q's chest was beside hers, as usual. They had figured out that they were friends and always bunked them together. Each bed had an alternating color. Their bed was black, the next purple, the next silver, then black and on and on. Enough beds for all of them.
A knocking on the window caught Adriana's attention. There was Percival, her hawk, knocking her beak on the window. She walked to the window and opened it, letting in the cool air and Percy. Her yellow talons were long and sharp, perfect for picking up prey, her beak sharp for the same purpose. Her eyes were a bright yellow against her solid dark brown feathers. Adriana petting the top of her head, and she squawked happily. Adriana heard noise coming from down stairs and people coming up the stairs. Percy took off into the growing dark, and Adriana shut the window, watching her fly off gracefully in the air.
"Hey, Adri," said Q, walking into the dorm. "Having fun running away from the first years?"
"Loads," laughed Adriana, turning to her. "I have practice everyday until the Cup."
"So I've heard," said Q, sitting on the bottom of their bed. "You're going to kick ass at that. I've got tickets, but they aren't very good seats."
"Who cares?" said Adriana. "You'll still get to see me show off on my lovely new broom. I got the new Firebolt for my birthday."
"Awesome," said Q. "Only two more years. Counting this one, of course. Then we'll be off into the world. You're taking Dark Arts with Pulchra, of course."
"Of course," said Adriana. "Dark Arts, Advanced Potions, Care for Magical Creatures, Advanced Transfiguration –"
"Wait, didn't you get your Animagus certification over the summer?" asked Q, sitting up excitedly, her brown eyes wide.
"Yep," said Adriana. "You are now looking at a registered hawk animagus."
"Hawk," said Q sarcastically, "Bird. Big surprise. Who didn't know you would choose something that could fly?"
"Shut up, Q," said Adriana. "Let's go down and try to be sociable."
They walked down to the Closet and greeted new and old alike, laughing at the first years who were amazed by the pure size of the fireplace in the middle of the floor, and the kids who swore that they weren't going to come back who had. Kris sat on one of the couches sitting beside one some of the fourth years, and Adriana ran over and sat on top of him. He laughed and wrapped his arms around her.
Adriana laughed with him and saw Viktor watching from the piano bench. She smiled at him and yanked Kris off of the couch and dragged him to the piano.
"Stay there, Kristoff," she said, placing Kris beside the piano, and sitting down beside Viktor at the piano. "You're fine, Viktor," she said when she saw that he was moving to get up. "Okay, chums, we're going to have fun our first day back, and we're going to sing somebody's favorite song, which just happens to be a certain Irish drinking song. Too bad we don't have any butterbeer. Let's go!"
The room got quiet as the piano started to play the jovial melody, and people started laughing when the six of them started to sing the song, but they joined in quickly, singing loudly and happily as Adriana's hands flew across the keys. Finally, the song came to a close, and everyone applauded and laughed happily as the door to the Closet opened, and Vivian Pulchra stepped in the door.
"So I see you're making people happy once again," said Vivian, her blue eyes tearing through Adriana as she bowed to the rest of Isaura. "Good. To anyone who doesn't know, I am Professor Vivian Pulchra, or just Professor Vivian, and I teach the Dark Arts class. I'm also this rank's head teacher, so I'm in charge of what things go on around here. That just means no killing each other or anything, which I don't think will be a problem if Adriana keeps playing that piano. I'd like to welcome all of you to Durmstrang and the Isaura home, and I hope you all enjoy your year."
The people of Isaura applauded, Vivian bowed and walked out of the room slowly and said before she closed the door: "Yeah, lights out is at eleven, so be in bed by then so I don't have to do anything."
The door shut and everyone spoke again. Adriana turned around at the piano to face the fire, as did Krum, and Kris shuffled Adriana's hair, laughing. Maybe the year wasn't going to be as bad as she thought.