Ellie's eyes settled over her new living quarters. Crimson flowers dotted the wallpaper to match the crimson rug. The wall hangings and drapes were also colored the dark red. Ellie felt like she was in a sea of blood. Two four poster beds were set in the corners of the room. A large wooden bedside table stood next to it. There was only one bathroom. This room though was totally white. The contrast of brightness almost hurt Ellie's eyes.
"Welcome to Durmstrang," said the girl who was to be Ellie's roommate. It sounded like she had an almost German accent. From the people she had spoken with, it seemed true about most.
"Thank you," Ellie said as she turned to look as the speaker. The girl was tall. She had night black hair and pale, ivory skin. She had a certain kind of beauty, a cold and harsh kind of beauty.
The girl sat on her bed. "My name is Victoria Sonnabend."
"Elodie Jennings, but most people call me Ellie." Ellie put her hand out for a shake. Instead, of taking her hand, Victoria got up from her bed, curtsied, then sat back down.
"So, ummmm....Ellie," Victoria started, "You're from England are you not?"
"Yes, I attended school at Hogwarts," Ellie said politely.
"You mean that wretched school run by that old wizard? What's his name again?"
"Albus Dumbledore," Ellie supplied.
"He isn't dead yet? I thought the Death Eaters would have had him years ago," Victoria sounded unpleasantly surprised.
Ellie then realized how it was going to be at Durmstrang. If this girl whom she had hardly known five minutes basically disclosed that she supported the Death Eaters, Ellie doubted others had problems. She wondered briefly whether the wizard government here punished those who supported the Dark Lord. Ellie doubted it.
"Nope, Professor Dumbledore is as safe and healthy as ever," Ellie shared brightly.
Victoria sighed, "Pity." Ellie was just about to give her roommate a piece of her mind when a bell rang. "It's time to go to the breakfast hall."
The Durmstrang dining hall was just as lavish as the one at Hogwarts. It was smaller, as was the whole castle, because there were less students. There was also only two long tables, one for the teachers.
"You may sit with me," Victoria told Ellie, as if it was a privilege.
Ellie wanted to be as far away from this girl as possible but she didn't know where else she would be welcome. "Thank you."
Victoria sat in near the middle of the table, closer to the head. Ellie sat next to her. "Ellie, this is Danielle Hautfield, Unis Daymond, and Gertrude Weudermein," Victoria said as she pointed at each of the girls around them, "And this," she told the other girls, "Is Elodie Jennings. She came from Hogwarts School in England." Victoria emphasized the school mockingly.
This girl doesn't have very good people skills, Ellie though. Outloud, she said, "Nice to meet you all." Breakfast then appeared on the table. It consisted of porridge, sausage and fruit.
"Not much of a selection," Ellie muttered, used to breakfasts with danishes, bacon, and toast with marmalade.
"Well, here at Durmstrang, we don't eat large breakfasts, they slow you down and make you fat," Unis informed her. Ellie looked down the table. She realized that there were no overly large people in school. What kind of prison am I in? she asked herself.
Breakfast eventually finished. Then classes started. Ellie had her schedule written on a piece of parchment. She found that she was up to most of the students' level and in almost all of her classes. There were only two exceptions. One was the Defense Against the Dark Arts. Ellie found herself advanced in this setting. In Hogwarts, she had been fairly good at the subject but not the best in the class. She found that they were still covering things she had learned in her second and third year. Ellie was moved up to the 7th year class. The only other exception was the Dark Arts. This subject was entirely new to El. Her only knowledge of this subject came from Defense class. Embarrassingly, she was placed in the second year class.
When Ellie told Victoria this, she couldn't believe it. "You don't know how to do any Dark Arts spells?" she asked, unbelieving.
"I know about them," Ellie replied.
"Hogwarts sounds like a top academic school," Victoria said sarcastically.
"Well, at Hogwarts, we try not to encourage people to commit illegal acts," Ellie spat back, tired of Victoria's harping about Hogwarts. "Although I guess Durmstrang likes to breed criminals."
Victoria's face turned very serious, full of spite. "You better watch your words around here Jennings or you just might end up not being able to speak any." With that, the girl stalked off.