Alona stepped onto the deck of the ship. She felt the chill wind nip at her cheeks. It smelled of juniper. Slowly, she ambled to the bow of the wooden creation, each step methodical and rehearsed in her mind. The captain had told her that they would be arriving at Hogwarts soon. She enjoyed watching the arrivals from the deck. It gave her a sense of wonderment. Unlike other forms of wizard travel, the ship's arrival was gradual. Destinations were unveiled, like fog lifting off the hills on a sunny day. Sometimes, if the arrival was early morning, the sun would catch fog just so, scattering the brilliant light in every direction. She looked out. The weather conditions were perfect for a breathtaking arrival.
She sighed quietly to herself. She ran her hand slowly across the grain of the rail. As she caressed the centuries old wood, her mind drifted off to nothingness. She sat memorizing the feel of the wood, its warmth, the little divot on the underside. How dare he send me away, she thought to herself. Durmstrang has always been my home. Her muscles flexed with emotion causing her to scrape her nails along the rail. Something sharp caused her to recoil her hand quickly. Examining her hand, she found a splinter in the pad of her index finger. She removed the splinter. Bright red blood poured out of the small hole. The blood matched her robes perfectly.
Alona felt a gentle breeze tug at her. She turned into the wind, allowing her robes to balloon behind her. She raised her face toward the sky, enjoying the sweet kiss of the air upon her cheeks. Here, she was free. It reminded her of flying on her broom. She wondered if she would be able to play quidditch at Hogwarts. Flying allowed her freedom that she never had on the ground. In the air, no one could catch her, not even Krum. She smiled to herself.
The air around her glowed pale blue, indicating that the sun was shining brightly. The ship moved very quickly, and most people were uncomfortable watching the land slip by so fast. So, the ship had been enchanted. All a person could see from the deck was a sea of color. Different colors meant different weather. Light blue meant that the sun was shining.
As Alona watched, the air began to brighten. Other color blossomed through the endless landscape of blue. First, there was green, and then the pinks and yellows of the wildflowers soaked through the canvas before her. Directly before Alona, a dark mass began to form. Hogwarts, she though sadly. Soon, the whole castle was visible. Alona sighed and went below deck. There was nothing to do now but wait for the ship to dock. Before her was the proof that she had been dreading. This was not a horrible dream. Her father was gone. She was going to be attending Hogwarts. The ship lurched gently. It had docked.
She looked around her stateroom in numb silence. After she gathered her self, she would be embarking on her new life, a life away from Durmstrang, away from her father, away from Krum. Krum had been her companion for most of her life. As hard as she would try, she could not remember a time when he was not there. He was the one who had been there for her since before she could walk. The Krum family was good friends with the Karkaroffs. Helga used to coo over Alona and remark how she was such a special girl to be alive. Viktor had taught her how to concoct a potion, flick a wand and ride a broom. But it was always her father that she looked to for recognition. How she had wanted to please him. Ultimately, she had been unable to do this. A single tear burned its way down her cheek. She wiped it away quickly. This year, she would prove herself to him. This year, he would see how great she was.
With firm resolve, she straightened her red cloak. She looked in the mirror. A Durmstrang girl must always look her best. Her reflection impressed her. The image was imposing. Before her stood a tall girl of 16 years. Her skin almost seemed to radiate. The pale luminescent was comparable only to the moon. Her face was framed by hair as dark as a night without starts. The raven hair was interrupted however, by a streak of silver just left to the center of her forehead. Her hair was long and sleek with a few pieces that blew away in the wind. It gave her a remarkably feminine look. The long, red robe billowed to the ground in luxurious splendor. The fur trim caressed her cheeks gently. The color almost gave her rosy cheeks. The robe, however, did not hide her lithe figure. The girl in the mirror winked, "You could take over the world, young one. Go get them!" Alona winked back, "I will." She turned and walked out of her room with renewed spirit.
When she reached the top of the imbarcment ramp, she noticed two figures waiting for her on the shore. They seemed to be involved in a serious debate. The first seemed old enough to be her great-grandfather. He had grey hair that extended down his back. His white beard was almost as long. He looked over half-moon spectacles at the other person in the conversation and nodded appropriately. She stared in slight abashment. This must be the "great" headmaster her father had told her about. It looked as if a stiff wind could knock him over. He hardly appeared to be the great wizard that his reputation gave him. The second man looked more like what she was used to. He stood with a presence. He oozed confidence and self-worth. His features were pronounced and hard, like most the students are Durmstrang. He had highly chiseled cheeks and a profoundly hooked nose. The conversation was much more important to him. He was talking rather animatedly. As he did so, his shoulder-length black hair moved with every gesticulation.
Alona proceeded down the ramp. With luck, she would be able to eavesdrop on the conversation. "I just don't see the importance, Albus." the black haired one began.
"Severus, we have been over this. You are the one who knows most about the type of training she has experienced. You are the one who can work to reverse it." The man said looking through his spectacles again.
"What do I know about 16 year old girls?"
Alona smirked, "Hopefully, not too much, or I'd turn you in." She looked him directly in the eye.
His lip curled as he bit his tongue.
"Ms. Karkaroff," the old man said gently with a slight smile. "Welcome to Hogwarts. I am Professor Dumbledore, the head master here. And this is Professor Snape. It is he that you will be staying with until you are settled in a house. He will also act as your guardian here at school."
Alona grinned with one side of her mouth. "A pleasure, I'm sure, professor," she cooed to Snape. "If you are ready, my hawk needs placement in the owlery." She saw the questioning glances. "I assure you, he is very well mannered, at least by Durmstrang standards. I have never had much luck with owls." She wasn't sure why, but the two men exchanged knowing glances. "Miss Karkaroff," Dumbledore said. "If you please, we will be off to the school. You have two weeks to get used to the surroundings before the other students get here." With that, all three started off for the castle.
Two weeks later
She looked at her surroundings with open disgust. Muggles were everywhere. Protectively, she drew her red cape around her body lest one of them touch her. She searched her brain for some positive aspect of the move. Even though she had pondered this for weeks, she could still only come up with two answers. The first was that her new school robes were black. She grinned. They wouldn't clash with her fiery red hair. There was no fur trim on these, but she was willing to overlook that. The look was rather flattering. The second reason was much more promising to her. She would be moving away from that wretched know-it-all, never fail at anything, Alona Karkaroff. The redhead's lip curled as she remembered the girls' first meeting. Alona had shown promise. She was after all, the headmaster's daughter. There was bound to be some potential for a partnership. The girl's confidence and collection drew the redhead to her. She had never made the mistake of being so wrong again.
She wrinkled her nose as a pungent odor withdrew her from her memory. The scent was detestable. It was almost as if the young girl could smell the muggles traipsing casually around the station. She held her cloak as a particularly oafish man brushed past her. She memorized his drooping mustache and self-important walk as well as the bedraggled boy that followed him. His black hair refused to stay in one place and he wore spectacles that were five times too big for his face. Her breath caught, however, when he looked at her apologetically with the most startling green eyes she had ever seen. They looked like high-grade emeralds. Later, she would have to send a curse to the fat man. At least the boy looked appropriately repentant. It's despicable, she thought as she buried her head and followed her mother through the crowded station, avoiding as much contact as she could.
"Ah yes," the woman began, "here we are." Her mother was practically shaking with excitement. The girl rolled her eyes in revulsion. When her mother had informed her of her father's transfer, Kathryn had practically boiled over with excitement about the prospect of her daughter attending the school she remembered so fondly. She had always been proud that the young girl attended Durmstrang Institute, but remembered with fondness her times at Hogwarts as a student, before she met Sasha. She looked at her mother.
"I see nothing but a brick wall, mother." She said apathetically.
"Honestly, surprised you ever made it to your sixth year! Wall towards the brick wall to the other platform. You'd think you'd never existed in a magical world!" she reproached.
She set her jaw. She was not a mudblood. She knew what magic was. She walked towards the barrier with calm, even steps. Soon, the brick wall gave way to a scene of seemingly endless hustle and bustle. A great steam engine stood before her. Bursts of vapor exploded from its stack in rhythmic precision. Everywhere she looked, there were students with trolleys loaded with a plethora of items from suitcases to animals. Suddenly, something or someone pushed the redhead from behind. She stumbled before she managed to catch herself. She wheeled around on the person, fire in her eyes. She smirked when she saw the frightened boy before her. The boy was nothing spectacular to look at. He seemed still to maintain some of the pudginess of his youth. He stood like a deer trapped in a muggle's headlights before he managed to stammer out, "Haveyouseenmywand…it'smissing."
The girl flipped her sleek red hair over her shoulder. "No, I haven't," she said in her sultriest voice.
"Th..th..thankyou," he stammered before blushing bright red and running quickly away. She smiled to herself. She loved the effect she had on most men. It made her feel powerful. Casually, she looked around for her mother. Finally, she spotted the woman. She was talking to someone, but the girl could not see who, he or she was blocked by some insolent person standing in the way. She walked purposefully over to her mother. Her jaw dropped in amazement as she heard her mother giggle. Her mother did not giggle.
Her mother caught sight of the girl out of the corner of her eye. "Oh, honey, do come here. There is someone I want you to meet. Lucius, this is my daughter, Ivy Beladonavich. Ivy, this is Lucius Malfoy." The man smiled at her and bowed formally. As he did so, he grabbed her hand and kissed it gently.
"A pleasure, I assure you," his voice dripped with alacrity. Ivy smiled to herself. She knew a bit about this man. When her mother and she had been closer, Kathryn had let Ivy know that there was a man at Hogwarts that she had loved greatly. They had been deeply in love, but were torn mercilessly apart by arranged marriages. This man was Lucius.
She smiled back, "no, sir, the pleasure is mine." She looked directly into his eyes. For a split-second, the man seemed nervous. However, it was quickly replaced by the cool distain that resided continuously in his face.
"There is someone I wish for you to meet, Miss Beladonavich," he smiled as warmly as Lucius could smile. He turned to his left and clapped he hands once. A boy about Ivy's age looked up from a group of students. He began walking decisively towards the older man. Ivy's inhaled sharply. Walking towards her was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. She swallowed, and began mindlessly fumbling with her hair and robes. His hair shown with the brilliance of the sun and crowned his face is light. His face was delicate and refined. He had highly sculpted cheekbones and a firm jaw. His grey eyes resembled a raging storm at sea. Ivy tried to exhale, but found that she couldn't. Composure! she scolded. Do not let a boy do this to you! You are a woman and in control. Ivy collected herself and tried to slow her heartbeat down. She was sure that everyone could see it pounding trough her robes. As he walked, his robes fluttered away from his body revealing a slim, but chiseled chest. She became weak in the knees. The boy stopped by Lucius' side. "Ivy Beladonavich, meet Draco, my son. Draco, this is Ivy Beladonavich from Durmstrang."
"A pleasure," he said, just like his father. And like his father, he reached for Ivy's hand and gently kissed it as he bowed to her.
Like she had done to his father she said, "no, I assure you, the pleasure is all mine." This time, however, she meant it.