Disclaimer: I own nothing except my OC's
All spells that are used in the fight scene here actually exist in Harry Potter.
There is a large amount of money exchanged here, so remember that in this story a galleon is worth 17 pounds.
The air was cold, as it ought to be. It was the beginning of November, and it showed. The days were shorter, and the wind was more brutal.
But that didn't stop Harry as he made his way outside of the castle and approached his practicing spot with an experiment in mind.
He was not alone today, as Elena decided to tag along with him to see his new spell. Unlike him, who mostly fine with warming and wind breaking charms on him; Elena was quite noticeably not enjoying herself at the moment.
'I guess some people just like the warmth.' Harry thought, glancing at her slightly shivering form.
He had been slightly worried, truth be told when he first saw her out by herself in the cold shivering quite noticeably. He had almost told her to head back to the castle and warm up, but her defiant expression stalled his words in his mouth.
"If you can do it, then I can definitely do it." She replied with a haughty expression. That was another difference Harry that noticed recently.
While Elena was no longer as aggressive in terms of spell fire, she had developed something of a competitive streak with Harry. It was actually kind of refreshing, having someone to work against him directly.
Shaking himself from his reflections, Harry noticed that they had arrived at their spot.
His spell that he was practicing today was an extension of the one he had used several months earlier. He would be sending out a significant stream of water which he would then freeze as it leaves his wand.
Harry would then weave a blasting curse into the tail end of the spell. This would shatter the now-frozen water and send the shards hurtling in the direction of the curse.
Taking a deep breath, Harry readied his wand and prepared himself as Elena leaned against a tree.
"Augamenti." He began, watching as the familiar water burst from his wand. Watching as it covered a good thirty feet in water, Harry prepared the next part.
"Glacius." He intoned. Like before, the ice froze as it left his wand spreading to the rest of the water lying on the ground. Soon the whole thirty feet was solid ice, about a good three inches thick.
The next part he needed a moment to think. As the last of the water froze, Harry flicked his wand to the side and away from him and Elena.
"Confringo." He said. The spell immediately shattered the ice, creating many ice shards spanning anywhere from less than an inch to almost half a foot. They immediately flew in the direction that the blasting curse was sent, as embedded in several trees almost fifty feet away.
'A decent wide area attack.' Harry surmised. While many used aguamenti for its ability to put out fires and the such, Harry saw the capabilities for a unexpected attack.
"Now it's my turn." Elena said. What followed was nearly half an hour of her torturing the trees with a wide variety of curses Harry had scarcely heard of.
After one particular tree turned blue and started to melt, Harry decided that was enough.
"Let's head back." He told her. She looked like she wanted to continue for the rest of the day, but Harry knew that he had classes to get back too and chances were so did she.
"We can come back here some other day, but we have classes to get to now." Seeing her still somewhat hesitate, Harry turned and started walking back.
One important thing that he had learned about Elena was that she loved getting attention. Whether that attention was good or bad, Harry didn't think she cared all too much.
So, when he turned his back on her and started to walk away, Elena got somewhat annoyed. Hearing her footsteps catching up to him, Harry knew that she would do something about this later but was glad that he got his point across anyway.
The dark arts class was finally starting to go somewhere. They were learning about the origins of the unforgivable. They weren't teaching them of course, as that would lead to a lifetime spent in Azkaban.
That didn't make it any less interesting though. Harry could still recall his surprise when he entered the classroom that day.
"Today, we a taking a small detour form our curriculum." Professor Ashen stated. "Today, we will begin a series of classes that will span the next few years."
She stared for a moment.
"The subject of today's lecture, are the three unforgivable." Everyone seemed to sit a bit higher in their seats upon hearing that.
Harry himself was interested although the rational part of his mind told him that it was unlikely, he would see the spells in practice.
"The unforgivable were first created, or at least recorded during the dark ages. More specifically, during the rise of the….."
She dove into a lecture involving a ancient dark lord, and how his forces were the first to use the killing curse in mass quantity.
It was actually kind of interesting learning about how for the first time, an army wielded a spell that couldn't be blocked or shielded against.
'Must have been terrifying.' Harry thought. Indeed, it would be horrifying to learn that everything you were taught about deflection was useless against this new spell.
Leaving the classroom thoroughly intrigued by the lecture, Harry felt a hand land on his shoulder.
"Potter." A male voice said. Turning, Harry saw one of his classmates staring at him.
It was Olgien Dresgoth, a student who he had never really talked to. They sat on different side of the classroom and there was not much group activity through the year.
"Yes." Replying politely, Harry didn't let his curiosity show. He wondered why this boy would want to talk to him.
"I heard you were close to that Blackwell girl, is that true?" He asked. Debating whether or not to tell him he truth, Harry sighed. It would be impossible to lie convincingly, considering the amount of people who knew how friendly Elena and him were.
"We are close." He replied. Wondering if this boy was out looking for revenge, Harry's had twitched towards his wand. But his fears were unfounded.
"Do you know any of the spells she used?" Olgien asked, voice almost demanding.
'And admirer?' Harry thought, but then discarded the idea. It was more likely that his kid simply wanted to know whatever spell Elena cursed someone with for his own purposes.
"I am more talented in charms than the dark arts, sorry." He told the boy. About to turn and leave, he was stopped by Olgien's voice again.
"How about a duel?" Olgien began. "If I win, you introduce me to her, and if I lose than you can name your price."
Harry thought over the terms. If he did lose to this kid, then he would probably have to spend a month hiding from Elena. She would curse him to hell and back if she found out he involved her in a wager.
But, the option to name whatever price he wanted from Olgien was too good to pass up on.
"Alright, your on." He said. "When and where?"
"Now, and outside the castle." Olgien replied. Harry's smile froze at that. If Olgien was planning something nasty, then the wards layered onto the castle wouldn't pick up on it if they were a sufficient distance away.
"Fine, but I chose the exact spot." It was Olgien's turn to look slightly irked, as he also knew that Harry could be planning something. Nodding his head in acceptance, the two walked outside in silence.
On the way out, they ran into Victor. Victor stared at the two of them, before turning to Harry.
"So, having your first official duel then?" He said, arching an eyebrow. "Mind if I tag along?"
Harry noticed how Olgien's eyes widen lightly but didn't notice the stars appear.
"I guess, if it's okay with you." Directing the second part at Olgien. He couldn't nod fast enough.
The three walked out of the castle, Harry directing them towards his favorite spot. Upon second though, Harry led them to a slightly different area, not wanting to give his opponent knowledge on where he usually went.
The two stood apart form each other on a flat surface, which was glazed over with ice. Harry had to make sure not to slip.
Victor stood off to the side, a fair distance off as to not be collateral damage.
Harry and Olgien stared at each other, wands at the ready in their hands.
"Colloshoo!" Olgien shouts, and Harry found that his feet couldn't move from the ice. He was half panicked when Olgien set out confringo at him but managed to shield just in time.
It was not entirely successful, as a bit of heat got through and made light scorch marks on his face.
He had no time to wince in pain however, as he sent a depulso spell at Olgien, who was flung away on the ice.
"Waddiwasi!" And Harry's feet were unfrozen, and he prepared his next spell as Olgien got up.
"Augamenti." Using his favorite water spell, Harry decided now was the time to test his chain spell in action.
Sending the water at Olgien, Harry twirled his wand and it began to surround the boy. Muttering the freezing spell, Harry watched as the water froze around his opponent, leaving only part of his head exposed to the air.
Deciding it would probably be best if he didn't use his next spell and shatter the ice into Olgien, Harry called that game.
Hearing clapping from his side, Harry saw Victor approaching. Making sure to keep Olgien in his peripheral, Harry turned to face his friend.
"Good duel Harry, glad to see you win." Taking that compliment straight to the head, Harry couldn't help but feel prideful.
"Now, let's get out of this freezing weather." Nodding his head in agreement, the two began walking back to the castle as the snow intensified.
But before he could go far, he remembered something. Running back to where Olgien was frozen, Harry hesitated for only a moment before unfreezing him.
Watching as Olgien fell to the ground and gasped with part of his skin turning blue in several areas, Harry felt slightly bad.
Waving his wand and applying warming charms to his younger classmate, Harry watched as the boy slowly wheezed on the ground.
'I didn't know it would be so…..brutal.' he thought, watching the aftermath of his spell. It wasn't any worse than if he had been hit by the Confringo, but it was still slightly discomforting to see the damage he had caused.
After a minute has passed and Harry had determined that Olgien would not die, he rejoined Victor and the two returned to the castle.
"Why did you unfreeze him." Victor asked, appearing curious. Harry glanced back at him, having thought the answer was obvious.
"I didn't want him to die." He told Victor. "Maybe hurt him a little, show him that I'm the better dueler. But not kill him."
"Besides." Harry said, turning forward again. "I don't want to be expelled for killing a student."
"You wouldn't be." He heard. Skidding to a stop, Harry turned a faced Victor.
"What do you mean." He said, sure that he misunderstood. Of course, he would be expelled for killing someone, right?
"If both parties agree to the duel, then if either one dies there are no formal consequences." Victor said solemnly.
Harry stared at him aghast. If he had forgotten about Olgien and he died, then he wouldn't have been punished at all?
"Now, there would definitely be some retaliation from any of the old families, outside of the school." Victor continued, apparently not noticing Harry's internal dilemma.
"Victor." He started warily. "If I had died in that duel, would Olgien face any punishment?"
Victor's silent answer told him all that he needed to know. Harry had been stupid, agreeing to a fight with someone he barely knew anything about. There might be retaliation now anyway, after all from what he knew Olgien did have some connection in the Russian ministry.
Deciding to keep a low profile until this thing hopefully blows over, Harry resumed his walk towards the castle with Victor.
The rest of the week passed uneventfully. Olgien appeared a bit miffed by his loss.
'It seems he was suffering from ego mania.' Harry thought wryly. To a certain degree it was true, but the answer was probably much more complex.
Most parents raise their kids to believe they are special, and this can lead to their offspring developing superiority complexes.
It was even worse in the wizarding world from what he could tell, where there was a much smaller population, and with something as powerful as magic being tossed around it was likely some kids thought they would be the next Merlin or something.
Everyone, both magical and muggle eventually wake up from this dream. Some, like the purebloods instead of believing themselves better than their fellow magical turn their focus towards hating inhuman and unmagical beings.
Some, like nay of the muggles Harry had seen tend to sink into a depressive state. It is somewhat disheartening, to realize you are only one in billions of people and that anything you do is likely to be forgotten or meaningless.
Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Harry refocused on his current assignment. Today professor Mendon was teaching them how to brew a simply sleeping potion. And by simple, Harry meant extremely dangerous and highly toxic if brewed incorrectly type of potion.
"Make sure to add a stasis charm to the potion while you collect other materials." Professor Mendon added. After the incident where Vivian Fashon mess up her potion and spent a week out in the hospital, Harry wasn't going to take any chances.
He had made sure to pay attention if any of the warning signs for this potion came up. If created incorrectly, one of the telltale signs of a disaster coming was light blue mist starting to rise from the rims.
Harry had set up a containment ward around his cauldron, just in case. It anything did go horribly wrong, then he could simply step back out of the edge of the protective charm and then clear the failed potion.
Unlike the Wiggenweld potion, this one took several days to brew. Therefore, it was necessary to put them in stasis overnight. About to pack up his equipment after handing in his vail to continue the next day, Harry heard a cough from beside his seat.
Glancing over, he noticed his fellow tablemate looking somewhat contrite. Recalling her name as Kentra Bosen, Harry waited to see what she would say.
"I accidently cut my Dittany leaf too short." She side-whispered. "Could I borrow some of yours?"
Harry looked over at professor Mendon, who was off to the side looking into a student's cauldron. After making sure she wouldn't see as one of her rules was to let a student succeed or fail on their own merit, Harry passed over the leaf.
The rest of the class passed uneventfully, except at the end. When most of the students were exiting the class, professor Mendon was decided she was not done with him yet.
"Potter." She called. "Wait behind."
Curious about what she could want to hold him back for, he complied. After the room had cleared except for the two of them, professor Mendon continued.
"Did you honestly think I wouldn't notice you giving the Bosen girl that leaf?"
'Ow frack.' Harry thought. 'Figures she would catch me the one time I cheated.'
Staring at her for several minutes, he grew more and more nervous when she didn't say anything else. A tiny bead of sweat ran down his cheek after five minutes had passed.
Finally, she flicked her wand and the door swung open.
"Don't let me catch you again Mr. Potter." She began. "Or I'll send you to Magnon for detention."
Harry scurried from the room, somewhat terrified of the concept. He had of course heard about the infamous punisher of students.
He had been told that if the students who cast the fiendfyre the previous year had survived, then they would have wished they died after a week with Elion Magnon.
While he doubted that he would receive the worst punishment for his offense was quite small, Harry still didn't venture a night with a man who was probably more feared than Karkaroff.
As Harry sat down across from Victor, he grabbed a piece of bread and hungrily ate into it.
"Charms is proving the be….interesting." He commented. Victor didn't reply, although Harry didn't really expect him to.
Victor had advanced from the previous year, but unlike Harry he had been relegated to fourth year charms. That was one class he was having to spend a significant amount of time on.
Harry tried to help him as much as he could but between his own classes and experimentation outside, combined with Victor's quidditch schedule meant that he couldn't help that much.
Victor was lucky in one respect though. After he had returned form his third successful game, his popularity in Bulgaria had apparently risen to the point where it would be disgraceful on both the team and Durmstrang for him to fail out.
Karkaroff gave Victor leeway in that he apparently told the teachers to pass Victor no matter what.
Speaking of Karkaroff, Harry hadn't really seen much of him over the years. Except for his initiation and the incident with Grindelwald's study, the only time he saw the headmaster was at the initiation feast and once or twice during the year.
It was actually kind of odd comparing the frequent sightings of Dumbledore at Hogwarts, with the almost nonexistent sightings of Karkaroff.
Shaking his head, Harry took another bite and looked at Victor.
"Your next game is coming up soon, isn't it?" He asked. Victor grunted and went back to eating his meal.
Harry wasn't aware of everything going on in the world, but his subscription to the daily prophet meant that he knew at least one interesting fact about Victor.
Apparently, Victor had found a new girlfriend. Or as the papers were calling it, A young love story. Harry had noticed just by looking at the picture of her that there was no way Victor had feelings for this girl.
"Apparently you have found a new lover." He spoke, dry humor evident in his voice. "Let's hope there isn't any schneegans like last time."
"It's not like that." Victor mumbled through his breakfast. Wiping the food from his mouth, Victor elaborated further.
"The quidditch captain took me aside one day and told me he had good publicity for me. Without any warning, he sprung his French girl on me and said she was my girlfriend."
Harry stared at him for a moment, a bit baffled by the captain's decision. Was it a publicity thing? Was the team being paid to have their members handed off to others?
"Do you have any say in the matter?" Harry questioned. He felt a bit bad that Victor was being shoved into this position.
"No." Victor replied. "But it isn't all bad. All I have to do I flirt with her and pretend like we are going somewhere in public."
"Ah, so it isn't real?" He wondered. Victor looked at him as if he had grown a third eye.
"I doubt that we'll get married." He spoke, bemusement clear in his tone. "These things happen so that rich families can be seen associating with the popular and famous."
Trying to ignore the sheer pride in Victor's voice upon saying that, Harry shook his head in confusion.
"But can't people see that it is so clearly a facade? A fake?" He questioned, a bit shocked that anyone could fall for such a play.
It truly saddened him that anyone could believe the fake visage that his friend put on. Victor appeared to disagree based on his expression.
"You knew me before I went professional." He began. "You know the real me. But everyone else doesn't. All they see is Victor the quidditch star, and nothing else."
Harry had no response for that. It took him several minutes to think it over, and he realized that Victor was right.
Harry had known Victor for over a year now. He had gotten to know the quidditch maniac before he hit the papers. Everyone else didn't. It was a said fact, that everyone would latch onto whatever story the media shoved down their throats.
It was also sad that the captain of the team and possibly the manager as well would use the team members in order to expand connections and gain support.
'It's not entirely unexpected.' He thought. Even in the muggle world, there were scandals that occurred all the time. Harry wondered how many relationships in both the magical and muggle world were arranged.
"I didn't know." Harry told Victor, a hint of an apology present in his voice. Victor waved his wand, dismissing his comment.
"It doesn't matter." He said. "These things peter out after a while. I have no doubt that the girl is already arranged to marry someone else. She comes from a long pureblood family line in France."
Victor returned to his meal, but Harry was not so content. Glancing at his copy of the Daily Prophet, He spent several minutes reading it over.
To his slight surprise, he realized that if he hadn't known Victor personally, then he probably would have believed everything that was in the article. It even goes on to say Victor was excelling in every class!
Keeping his surprise to himself, Harry decided to keep everything he learned from the papers to under suspicion.
Harry was startled by Elena slumping down across frim him at his table in the library. She looked quite terrible, with bags under her eyes. Somewhat concerned for her, Harry opened his mouth to speak.
"I'm so bored!" She said, silencing him with her reply.
'That's it?' Harry thought. That was the reason she looked like she hadn't slept in half a week? She looked like an insomniac for Merlin's sake!
"Um…..That's bad." Harry responded, unable to think of anything else to day. Elena gave him a glare that promised retribution if he messes up.
"It's horrible." She continued. "I don't have anything to do. I can't curse the students, I can't curse you, everything's falling apart!"
'A bit dramatic, don't you think?' Harry kept that comment to himself. Although Elena had promised to not curse him anymore, he really didn't want to test it.
"Well, if your so bored, then find something to occupy yourself." He felt that was the safest thing to say.
"But what is there to do?" She whined. "What do you do when you're bored?"
What would be the best way to tell Elena that whenever he was bored, he either went outside or read a book quietly somewhere? He didn't think his action loving friend would take that advice very well.
"I learn a new piece of magic." He finally said. "There is always something new to learn, or some old spell to refine my knowledge of."
While this was certainly what most appealed to Harry on a rainy day, he debated whether Elena had the patience to sit down and read a book front to back for the heck of it. Most students certainly didn't.
A lightbulb suddenly went off in Harry's head. He could combine his love of books with Elena's newfound rivalry with him.
They would both try to learn about a new piece of magic and then test it against each other. That would promote them both to try and learn magic with more effort and enthusiasm.
"I have an idea." He told her. "What if we both try and learn a new piece of magic, and then see who's better."
Although she tried to hide it, Harry thought he saw a hint of excitement enter Elena's eyes. It seems his plan worked, for now.
"Fine, but I get to choose the magic." The reply wiped Harry's excitement right off the map. What kind of magic did Elena have in mind?
Harry heard her mumble words from her mouth, occasionally picking out words like "Apparition" and "Avis".
He would be very amused if Elena picked Avis, since that had been a spell that he had mastered in his first year.
It was actually somewhat strange that he had mastered a seventh-year spell but had trouble with some of the fifth-year spells being taught now. Nothing too difficult, but the pace was getting noticeable faster.
His musings were interrupted as Elena suddenly brightened, and Harry prepared himself for her answer.
"The cruciatus curse." She said happily.
"…."
After nearly two minutes of Harry staring at Elena thinking she was insane, she suddenly burst out laughing.
"Just joking." She said, with a small giggle. Harry was not amused, for a split second he a thought that she was being serious.
He didn't know which was worse, her joking about wanting to cast the curse, or her actually wanting to cast it.
…On second thought, he felt like an idiot. Of course, it was better for Elena to pretend to want to cast the curse then actually wanting to cast it.
"If that was a joke, then what is your actual answer?" He said, still somewhat perturbed by her jest.
"The flagrante curse!" She said, enthusiasm finally present in her voice.
Harry recalled what he knew about the spell. It was a curse usually used for protecting an item from being touched. From what he knew it was probably used to protect some family's wealth from being taken.
"Alright, your on." He said. It shouldn't be too hard to learn that specific spell, probably just a few low sleep nights and he would know it. Probably.
"Let's test it sometimes after Christmas."
"Ok." She appeared ready to leave, before taking on a pensive expression.
"I was also wondering." She appeared to grind out her next words. "If you wanted to come over to my manor…for the holidays."
Harry fainted.
"Aguamenti" He heard, before he got drenched in water. Bolting upright in his seat, he turned and looked at Elena.
"Elena!" He began, startled. "I just had the weirdest dream. You invited me over for Christmas!"
She stared at him for a minute, before shooting another jet of water at his face. Coughing and hacking his lungs out from all the water, it took Harry a few moments to recompose himself and realize the dream was real.
"Eh….." He was at a it of a loss. "Sure?"
Elena's lips twitched, and without a reply she turned a left the library. Staring after her as she left, Harry was a bit dumbfounded.
Elena had never shown any inclination for wanting to have him over as a guest. Was she getting lonely? Or maybe she was always lonely and just was working up the nerve to ask him over.
'That makes it sound like a date.' He thought. Did that qualify as a date? Getting asked over by a girl to her house?
Shaking his head, Harry decided to see what he could find about the flagrante curse.
Walking out of his transfiguration class, Harry headed to dinner. He had just finished practicing the flagrate spell, which allowed one to write fiery words into the air.
It didn't seem to have much practical application but was cool as hell. If he didn't fear going to prison for breaking the Statute of Secrecy, then he would have loved to show his fellow orphanage kids this spell. It would freak them all out.
Lowing himself across from Victor, Harry began helping himself to the closest plate of food. Taking a bite, Harry turned his eyes to Victor.
"I hope you do well on your next game." He told him. Victor mumbled something through a mouthful of bread.
Victor's next game would be over the holidays, which began in just a few days. It would be his fourth game so far this year.
This game was putting him under a lot of pressure for several reasons. Firstly, this was one of the first qualifying games for the world cup, which would take place the following summer.
Winning this game would start Victor's path to be the youngest ever seeker to win the world cup in nearly two hundred years.
"Would you be willing to help lighten the homework load a bit?" Victor asked.
That was another thing. Victor was so stressed and overworked with quidditch, that he had asked Harry to help with his homework.
Some might say that Victor was taking advantage of him for his own benefit, and to a certain degree that was true. But Victor was also being genuinely overworked, and it showed.
His friend often arrived exhausted and would fall asleep early in the evening to wake up early for practice, both at Durmstrang and at his training facility.
And because he goes to sleep so early, he had much less time to work on school. If it wasn't for his popularity, then Victor probably would have been in serious trouble.
"I won't be able to get you tickets to this game." Victor said apologetically. "But if we make it to the world cup, then I promise to get you tickets."
"Don't worry about it." Harry told him. Despite his past reservations about Victor's path in life, he could clearly see that Victor as invested in quidditch. Although he seemed to get extremely stressed sometimes, he also did enjoy the game quite a bit.
Shaking his head, Harry took the papers from Victor and got to work.
Harry did something that was very rare in Durmstrang. When he dueled Olgien, he apparently should have left the boy to freeze in the ice. Word had spread around some, and it led to a very awkward situation.
Harry did it so the boy didn't die, but the family took it much more seriously than that. Apparently, Harry had earned something called a life debt.
He didn't even know about it until Olgien came up to him one morning and handed him a letter. Taking it, Harry didn't notice the sigh of relief that escaped Olgien when he took the letter. Opening it, Harry began to read.
Dear Mr. Potter,
As the head of the Dresgoth family, I would like to thank you for saving my heir and son. As the heir apparent to the Dresgoth fortune, it would be disastrous for anything to happen to him. Therefore, as fulfilment for the life debt Olgien incurred, I am authorizing the transfer of 200,000 galleons.
Effective immediately, the specified funds will be delivered to your Gringotts vault.
Harry froze. The bread that he just swallowed began to feel very heavy in his stomach. 200,000 Galleons? That was a lost of money. Actually, Harry was technically a millionaire if he transferred the money into pounds.
Recalling that the Galleon was worth about seven pounds, Harry felt a bit dizzy. Why would they give such an absurd about of money?
Finishing the letter, it basically said that they hoped this incident was concluded and they could all move forward. It felt a bit rushed for some reason, leaving Harry somewhat confused.
He had asked Victor about it several days later, and he had a very simply answer.
"The family owes you a debt. Its better if they give a large sum money and put the entire matter behind them, then to have it pop up again later at an inconvenient time."
"But still, it's a lot of money." Harry replied, still overwhelmed by the sheer amount of gold he now had.
"Not to the purebloods." Victor responded. "The Dresgoth family has over twenty million galleons in gold. Giving up less than a percent of that is nothing, considering they will probably regain that amount of money in less than three months."
Not responding, Harry was still unsure about the situation. Victor picked up on his unease this time and gave a more comforting response.
"My salary so far has been twenty thousand gallons per game, and more with the recent merchandise coming out. It really isn't that much money."
Putting the issue of Victor merchandise to the side, Harry gave a sigh and finally accepted the situation for now.
He would definitely be writing a letter to Gringotts about setting up an account for himself.
Christmas had come. It was time to leave for the holidays, and Harry honestly didn't know what to expect.
For the first time he would be living in someone else's home for a whole week. It was somewhat unnerving to be in such a situation for the first time.
'I survived fiendfyre, I can survive a sleepover for a week.' He resolved.
Walking out to meet Elena outside with his trunk in hand, Harry was once again happy about lightweight charms.
He had agreed to meet Elena outside the main entrance to Durmstrang, where the student's portkey in and out. Finding her waiting for him leaning against the wall just inside the gate, Harry walked up to her.
"Ready when you are." He expected some kind of joke or snide remark, but there was none forthcoming.
She simply nodded and held out a silver chain in her hand. Now familiar with the feeling of portkeys, Harry readied himself and took hold.
Being squeezed through a tube never got any less uncomfortable, but at least this time he didn't feel like he was going to vomit.
It was very dark out, and Harry didn't recognize his surroundings at first. It took a few moments to adjust to the dark light, and Harry cast lumos the brighten his surroundings more.
The first thing he noticed was that they stood in front of a large gate, about ten feet tall by Harry's guess. He saw a large structure in the distance but couldn't make out more details in the low light.
Seeing Elena start walking forward and hold out her wand Harry made sure to follow. The gate swung open as Elena moved near, and nearly closed on Harry.
The two walked about fifty feet in silence, before Harry noticed more defined details of the structure.
'Looks like a mansion.' He thought. It stood at least three stories tall, and Harry saw through the snow several balconies dotted around the levels.
Moving through the cold wind, they eventually passed through a large door. But before Harry could relax from the cold a loud 'pop' had him going for his wand.
Elena shushed him with a wave, and Harry noticed a small…thing looking up at him. After staring at him or a good half minute, the creature turned to Elena.
It was a little pale thing, with big floppy ears and wide eyes. Waring a worn shirt, the creature reminded Harry of a Christmas elf, except without the happiness and somewhat depressing.
'Is…..is it a house elf?' Harry thought. It would certainly make sense.
"Mistress is home." It crooned. Its voice gave off a male tone. "Mistress has brought someone with her."
Harry stared down on the thing, wondering what sort of bizarre creature this thing was. It gave off the feel of being something life a servant, at least that's what Harry thought.
"Yes, Quill." Elena replied to the thing. As if finally remembering Harry was standing there dumbfounded, she turned towards him.
"This is Quill, the family house elf." Ah, so this was the house elf raised Elena. Unless there were other house elves around her somewhere.
Taking his eyes off the small creature conversing with Elena, Harry glanced around the room. Or should he say foyer, because that better described the entrance room he had walked into.
There was a large gallery staircase extending up to the next floor. The room was quite large, probably about forty feet wide. It seemed like something out of a medieval castle picture.
"Quill will take you to your room." Elena interrupted his thoughts, before walking up the staircase and out of view with her trunk floating behind her.
Harry was taken aback when the house elf literally 'popped' in front of him.
"I am Quill, please follow me." It murmured. It led Harry up the staircase and to the left, and to the opposite side of the house that Elena had gone.
"Are all the rooms spread throughout the house?" Harry questioned. For such a big house, it would be unlikely that people would run into each other here.
"No." The house elf replied. "The men and woman sleep in different parts of the house."
'Ah, very old family.' Harry thought. He had read about some of the basic pureblood traditions, one of which was different genders living in opposite wings of a house.
So, Elena was from such a family, one that still maintained many pureblood customs? Harry almost stumbled as a stray thought overtook him.
'Are they blood fanatics?' He wondered. He didn't feel so safe all of a sudden. He wondered if he should even reveal his name to the house elf.
The lanterns on the walls lit up as they passed, before flickering out once they had moved past.
"Mistress has never brought anyone over before." Then newly introduced Quill interrupted his ponderings.
"You must be very close." It finished. Harry opened his mouth to reply, before thinking over his reply. Was he really the first one to ever come over?
"Have no relatives ever come over?" He questioned the house elf. It stared back up at him.
"No, no family had ever come looking." Quill said gravelly.
It was almost sad that he was the first one to venture into the hose other than Elena since…..
'Since her parents died.' Harry thought. 'So that was why Elena was so….tense."
Arriving at a room, Harry opened the door and looked in. There was a large bed, probably king sized located on one side. The large glass window showed a bleak sky and thrashing winds.
"What time is it?" He asked, wondering if it was morning or night.
"It be just past six." Quill said. Ah, so there as a five-hour time change since they had left at eleven in the morning from Durmstrang.
That meant that they were somewhere is eastern Europe. Based on the snowfall, probably in one of the more northern countries.
"I'll leave you now." Quill spoke, about the pop away. Before leaving though, it looked like it had a question it needed answered.
"What is your name, sir?" It asked.
Harry imagined a sweat drop fell from his forehead. Should he tell the truth or lie? And if he did lie then what should he say? Taking a small breath, Harry decided to take his chances being honest.
"Harry Potter." He replied. The elf gave no response, it simply nodded its head and then disappeared with a 'pop'.
Looking around his massive room again, Harry glanced at the window. The first rays of the sun were beginning to dent the darkness.
Harry set his trunk down in the center of the room and looked around. Going into a side closet, Harry was pleasantly surprised to see a giant bathroom attached to his room.
The orphanage had a communal bathroom on each floor, one for each gender. Durmstrang had bathrooms distributed around the place, although Harry heard that some students made their own bathrooms.
The marble tiles and excessive number of mirrors around the place made Harry feel very small. Closing the door, Harry continued to observe many aspects of the room that he had never seen before.
There was a massive room filled with wardrobes that was bigger than Harry's orphanage room. Although too cold to enjoy at the moment, there was a balcony visible on the other wide of the glass window.
The bed was a delight. It had five layers of sheets and were clearly made of some kind of expensive fabric. It was at this time that Harry wondered about the finance of his friend.
'Is she rich?' He thought. 'Like the Malfoys?'
Harry recalled Draco Malfoy form his first year at Hogwarts and tried comparing him with Elena. They were just so contrasting.
'If Elena's parents had survived, would they have turned her into another Draco Malfoy?' He continued musing to himself.
That was a terrifying thought, the idea that his kick ass friend could have been another ponce like Malfoy. Shaking his head, Harry was only marginally startled by the 'pop' that announced Quill's arrival.
"Mistress would like to see you in the dining hall.' The diminutive house elf said.
'They have a dining hall!' Harry thought. 'How rich are they?!'
Following the house elf around the place, Harry couldn't help but be somewhat awed the sheer size of the place. It was nearly the size of his entire orphanage.
'I wonder how big the yard is.' Harry thought dryly. Although he couldn't see more than a few feet out the window, Harry had no doubt that the yard was probably excessively large.
They walked back down the staircase, and deeper into the manor.
Harry was led into a large rectangular room, which he estimated had to be at least fifty feet by twenty feet give or take a few. Elena sat in one of the chairs, munching on something.
Upon seeing him approach, she stilled before setting down her utensils.
"I hope everything was acceptable?" She questioned. Harry couldn't help but feel like she was somewhat embarrassed by the opulence showed.
'And she knows that I live in an orphanage.' Elena probably thought that Harry believed she was showing off her wealth.
"Everything was wonderful, thank you." He replied. It was true, everything about his accommodations was wonderful, although Harry knew that he would miss it when he left.
"May I sit down?" He asked out of politeness. Following Elena's node, he took a seat across form her. The next fifteen minutes was spent with Elena detailing the place to him, from the obscured grounds to the study just down the hall.
She made sure he swore not to enter the third floor or the basements. Being a old and definitively pureblood house, Harry had a decent idea of what he would find.
"Ow, there's one more place I need to show you." She said with a smirk. Raising an eyebrow, Harry followed her as they left the dining hall (glorified dining room) and walked down a way.
Coming to a stop in front of a large room, Elena put on a small smirk and stood with her back to the door.
"Be careful not to faint." She spoke, amusement in her voice. She then opened the doors and walked in.
"Merlin's beard!"