The sun was bright on the castle grounds, the trees and grass were a green that one could only imagine in a fairytale. Following those in her year towards the school grounds, they were going to learn the basics of broom flying, Nina had never been the best flyer growing up but over the summer she had been practicing, she remembered Malfoy flying circles around her a few years ago as she tried desperately to move anywhere higher than a foot off the ground. She was determined to prove to him that she could do anything, she could even do better than him at something, even if he practiced every Thursday evening.

She keeps her head up and her sharp, slightly upturned nose was held high, she hadn't made many friends yet and Harry was with Ron and Hermione was unable to be found among the crowd.

"Hello, I'm Pansy. Pansy Parkinson. Pureblood" A slytherin girl approaches, her hair was short and styled to look like a perfect cut, almost like a wig. Her dark brown eyes blinking wickedly as her thin lips are pulled into an impish grin, her hand extended and slowly Nina takes the girls hand.

"I'm Antonina Volkov" Nina says softly as she looks around for one of her three friends to save her.

"We should be friends, even if we are in rivaling houses. Our families are apart of the Sacred twenty-eight so it's only natural for those with power." The girl speaks and Nina feels as if she is going to vomit, Nina didn't like those who thought power and blood status was the most important aspects to everything in the world.

"Yes, we'll if you will excuse me." Nina says coldly and skillfully slips through the crowd of red, green, yellow and blue.

"Why so fast to escape, Volkov?" Malfoys snide voice cuts through the air like butter and she keeps walking, she still hadn't forgiven him for cutting her hair. Perhaps part of the reason she despised him for it, was the fact she had to wear hats to hide her awful hair cut; Nina hated hats. She hears a grunt of irritation as she and everyone else ignores him with ease, she hears footsteps approaching her quickly and she turns around as her nose scrunches up in disgust as he stands in front of her, an expression of surprise masking his face as he didn't expect her to whip around so fast.

"Leave me be Malfoy" She snaps and he runs his hand over his slicked back towheaded hair grinning.

"Where is the fun in that" He says sneering.

"Now hold your dominant hand over the broom and on the count of three, say up. One! Two! Three" Madame Hooch commands and the first years in their two lines begin chanting up, both Harry and Malfoy immediately having their brooms shoot from the ground and into their waiting hand, Nina got it on her second call, gripping the shaft of the broom and beaming with excitement as she looks up to see Malfoy's proud face drop to disappointment as his chance for insult is ripped from him. But next thing she knew Madame Hooch was gone and Harry was chasing a remembrall Malfoy had thrown, Malfoy had successfully irritated Nina past the point of no return and it hadn't even been a month into school.

•◆•

Nina had seen a lot up to this point in her life but nothing she had seen had even come close in comparison, when it came to Hogwarts. Nina sits across from Ron and next to Harry, unlike most others who went straight for the candy that appeared before them, her plate was covered in garlic mashed potatoes with strips of steak patterned along the top, and to top it off is corn and gravy. Using her fork she eats happily as she and her friends share jokes between mouthfuls of delicious food, her eyes drift as she sees Malfoy beaming at his friends around him, his crooked teeth visible from three tables over where she sits, his eyes seem to drift and lock with hers as his face darkens menacingly and she dramatically rolls her eyes. Suddenly both their attention and that of everyone else in the hall, lock on the frantic Professor Quarrel as he stumbles down the hall at a rapid pace before he shouts over the whispers.

"TROLL! TROLL IN THE DUNGEON!" He screams without a single stutter, "a troll?: Trolls, mostly dangerous due to its immense strength, but what makes it worth avoiding is its small brain." Nina remembers her father telling her about how trolls are incredibly dim witted. Suddenly she and the rest of the room burst into screams of terror as they begin to head for the door

"Silence!"

"Harry this is a bad idea!" Nina says in a stern whisper as she walks fast next to the boys.

"Yes but Hermione needs our help!" Harry says quickly

"I'm sure she'll be-" as they turn the corner Nina spins around and shoves her friends back.

"I don't think the troll is in the dungeon anymore" Ron says with wide eyes. The three sprint into the girls bathroom where Hermione is screaming and the stalls are being destroyed.

"Hey! HEY YOU!" Nina screams while the three of them throw rubble at the large creature.

"Hey Pea Brain!" Ron shouts and hits the troll in the head, gaining his attention the three split up Nina grabs Hermione and pulls her under the sinks pulling her wand from her pocket, not exactly sure what she would do with the wand since she hadn't spent much time learning spells outside the curriculum.

Somehow between the four of them they managed not dying, not getting detention be they ended up getting fifteen house points for "sheer dumb luck" as McGonagall put it.

•◆•

"Come on lazy bums! Get up! Get up!" Nina and Katrina were jumping on their parents bed, both yelling and trying to wake up their parents.

"Come on! It's Christmas!" Katrina yells and tries rolling her father back and forth. Her dad was being silly and pretending to roll over and fall asleep again.

"Come on Alik, let's get these girls downstairs. The sooner it's over the sooner we get to sleep." Her mother says softly and her father throws himself up roaring playfully, both Nina and Rina jump up screaming happily and running down the hall in their nightgowns as their father pretends to be a monster and chases them. The girls run down the stairs and through the foyer, down the hall and into the sunroom where Rilkey the house elf is opening the curtains to the wall covered in windows with a large bench set in front of the window, her father enters the large double doors vacant of a shirt as per usual when he lounged around the house, his hair wild and curly but he soon fixes it by sliding his fingers through it and pulling it back, Nina notices the faded red scar on his left forearm and the sinking feeling fills her stomach like normal when she saw it. Nina and Rina sit at the bottom of the large tree covered in moving decorations and Nina is soon taken over by delight if what could be under the tree in the elegantly wrapped presents of all colours and sizes.

The girls got many presents, Rina got more since most of it involved toys and such, while Nina got horseback riding equipment, clothes, books, drawing supplies and jewelry. They were making it very apparent that she was now growing up

"Daddy, does it hurt?" Rina says poking her father's arm and he smiles softly and picks her up and rests her on his lap while Nina sits with her mother on the love seat, the air seeming to become heavy.

"Sometimes, but having my family around distracts me from it" He says poking her nose. "But now we must eat! Because we have to get ready soon, we have friends awaiting our arrival!" Her father says standing and carrying her sister.

"Mother, who is waiting for us?" Nina says suspiciously as she stands and holds her mother's hand, heading for the dining room.

"Don't worry about that now, we will eat and get dressed and you will see." her mother says and after a grand breakfast the family goes their separate ways to get dressed, Nina pulls out her Christmas dress. The dark red velvety fabric designed to look like a ballgown with dark red sleeves that go to the middle of her arm, a large pale yellow bow wrapped around her waste and tied in the back, the pale yellow also msde peter pan styled collar and lace bell sleeves that start at her elbow, and finally a yellow choker tied around her throat with a red gem in the center. Her hair was brushed since she couldn't really do anything with its length, besides put a headband on.

"Come on girls! They're waiting!" Her father calls from the main floor, both she and her sister exit their rooms and run down the hall in their dresses, her sister dressed in a very poofy dark green dress, where the waist is high and starts under her arm pits and flares out with lots of layers, and her hair pulled up into a bun. The girls hurry down the stairs and their flats tap against the stone flooring of the foyer as her mother stands holding her father's arm, dressed in a brilliant yet simple form fitting gold dress with a black fur shoulder shawl, her father dressed in a sleek knee length black wizard robe with a high collar and dress pants with dress shoes. They were a couple to envy in all ways, Nina takes her mother's hand and her sister takes her father's, after all moment the feeling of being sucked through a hole and a loud snapping sound is heard and then they are standing at the large gates of a manor. The large manor was dark in colour and the windows were large, Nina frowns as the calls of white peacocks echo over the otherwise rather quiet grounds, her father opens the gate and Rina runs down the long path up to the manor, her sister banging on the door before her family even made it halfway down the path, a familiar skittish elf opens the door and Rina shoves her way past ye elf and disappears into the house dropping her coat on the floor. Running up to the door she helps up the elf.

"Are you alright Dobby?" She ask softly and he jumps up and shakes his head.

"Dobby is use to that way of treatment, Dobby is fine!" Nina frowns at the elves answer, Nina stands and picks up her sister's coat as her parents follow her into the foyer of the manor. Two large deerhounds run in barking loudly at Nina who look at the dogs as no threat, kneeling as her dress poofs up around her, she extends her hand and slowly the dogs approach and cease barking as they sniff her hand and then start wagging their tails, she scratches their necks and smiles brightly.

"Karma! Titan! Out!" a woman snaps from the top of the joined stairs, the dogs scurry from the room and Nina pushes herself onto her feet, the blond woman smiles and steps down the stairs raising her arms happily. "Alik, Vas! I'm so glad you could make it" She speaks and Nina's mother greets her old friend with a hug.

"How could we miss Christmas with the Malfoy Family." Her father says as Lucius walks in from the drawing room to her left.

"Ah Antonina, Draco is in the music room. I am sure your sister has already found him. You know the way" Narcissa says fondly as she rubs her shoulder and Nina smiles up at the woman. Nina always had an affection towards Narcissa, part of it may have been the fact she helped raise Nina, when her mother would be on a tour somewhere in the world and her father busy with work she would be sent to the Malfoy's, therefore Narcissa would have a chance to express her needs for a daughter with Nina, spoiling her with dresses and gems. Doing as he woman asked Nina turns to the east towards the music room, past Lucius and from the foyer into the drawing room and then into the music room, there she sees Draco pushing her sister away and then running up the stairs to the raised section of the room to where he books and desk sits. He looks frantic as her sister is hot on his heels and hugs him tight as he squirms in her grasp.

"Volkov get her off me!" He snaps and she crosses her arms and shakes her head.

"You're on your own Malfoy" She says sitting on the grand piano bench in the corner, watching as he struggles and ends up falling over and trying to drag himself from her sister's grasp.

"Draco, get off the floor! What are you doing" Narcissa says walking in and seeing her son on the floor while Nina sees her mother and father red in face and trying not to laugh.

"Draco has been practicing his piano more recently, he has learned so many songs now!" Lucius says proudly as he rests his hand on his son's shoulder.

"Yes well Vasilisa has been teaching Nina how to sing higher notes, her pitch is perfect." Alik says grinning and Lucius's eye twitches.

"Yes, well Draco has perfected the leg-locker curse! Very advanced for a first year." Lucius replies and Nina rolls her eyes.

"Mother they are doing it again!" Nina calls down the hall and Vas walks in.

"What are they doing darling?" She asks looking between the two men.

"They are comparing us again" Draco replies with his ego shining bright but fed up tone accompanies it.

"Boys behave!" Narcissa says standing next to her mother with a smile on her face and the two men turn red with embarrassment, their fathers would often boast about she and Draco, always trying to one up the other and she and Draco use to enjoy their fathers fighting about who was the better child. They welcomed it until they did it every time they were around each other and they just wanted their fathers to calm down and go separate ways.

•◆•

"Is that? A dragon!" Hermione says in disbelief and Nina sits next to her with a bright smile on her face, her cheeks red as she examines the dragon with excitement.

"Hagrid this is illegal! But… look how sweet he is" Nina says with a high pitched voice as she scratches under the dragon's chin, Norbert makes a cooing sound that almost sounds like clicking. Nina had spent a fair amount of time nursing newborn dragons when her family took the trips to Romania, and in doing so she picked up a few tricks. "Ron, NO" She shouts as he touches the dragon's tail and it whips around and bites Ron and Nina sits back down from her standing position, frowning as he holds his hand and angrily looking at the newborn dragon.

Somehow Nina managed to avoid detention through the year and easily passes all her classes, tensions somehow managed to grow between Nina and Malfoy as they pick at one another over the smallest details, she would point out how overly greased his hair was while he would mention how awful her hair looked, she would point out how snobby he looked as his nose crinkled and he would point out how much of a hypocrite she was with her nose "Heald higher than the great oaf" in which he meant Hagrid.

The two would but heads even in he middle of class and depending on who's class it would be, either one or both would get points removed and sometimes even added.

No matter which angle she would look at it from, she didn't see an upside.