Maria Hanuschak: After Papa was taken away, Mama, John, and I moved to England to live with Onco Lucius and his wife and son. Mikhail had gone to Romania. He wanted to work with dragons and had set up an apprenticeship before everything began to unravel. For the record, he never took the Dark Mark. Josef had somehow eluded the Aurors, at least for the time being, and no one knew where he was.
At the time we moved, Onco was being questioned by Aurors as to his activities with the Death Eaters, so it was the wives and children left to fend for themselves. True, we were decently well off, but it was the principle of being without a strong male figure that scared Mama and Tante Narcissa the most. Now, I do not think poorly of Tante Narcissa because of anything she did or did not do, I think poorly of her because she is weak. Tante Narcissa carried on and on about missing her Lucius, how he was going to be sent to Azkaban forever, and how she did not know how she was going to be able to raise Draco herself. She cried for hours, leaving the rest of us to care for young Draco. I was nine at the time and was often ordered to watch Draco when Mama tended to our aunt. John helped too, but was more prone to wandering about the grounds of the Malfoy estate. We both wandered when we got the chance, which was rare. Eventually, Onco Lucius was acquitted, claiming the Imperius Curse. That was a lie as everyone found out during the second war, yet, at that time he returned to us and helped run our extended family. Papa did not return. He was found guilty of aiding and conspiring with Death Eaters along with being a Death Eater himself. He died in Azkaban three years later. Papa was not a bad man; please know that. He was never even charged with harming Muggles or any other person. He was guilty of giving information on the Dark Arts to Uncle Tom and the rest of them; that is all.
Another thing I wish to add: never say that Death Eaters were monsters. Capable of terrible things, yes, but we took care of our own. Perhaps we did not take care of everyone, but to our own, there was a loyalty that exceeds any other. Death Eater children were kept away from the dungeons and the torture until they were old enough to understand it. To you, this may sound horrible; when you review all that went on in our households, you cringe. That was all normal to us though. We were kept in our circle and knew nothing of what your normality was. Maybe that is why we are considered cold, because we do not fret at the sight of darkness. I would rather be considered cold than be so incensed that I could not act. I am getting off topic though, where was I? Yes, living with Onco.
After Onco returned things were the same mostly. We got wary looks now though from strangers, but nothing was too different over all. The biggest change was living in England and not Slovakia. Learning where to shop and learning the new culture was the hardest. We adjusted though; we have always adjusted. Like when John left for Durmstrang, Mama had to deal with her first child leaving her and going to a far and distant place. Onco was proud of John. He wanted nothing more then for all of us, including Draco, to go to Durmstrang. However, some of John's incidents changed Draco's course. It was John's first year and he had been sorted into the Durmstrang equivalent of Hufflepuff, which was still a feat far greater than anything at Hogwarts, but I will not begin with my opinion on Hogwarts. John was routinely bullied and never learned to stand up for himself. As much as I loved my brother, you cannot just stand by and take humiliation like that. You must stand up for yourself. He never learned that. Onco Lucius saw that and knew that Draco would someday be like John if he ever went to Durmstrang. Draco was weak-minded. Most of it I believe was caused by the over coddling of my Onco after seeing what Durmstrang can do to a person. Draco did learn to be strong though, but it was years later. He wouldn't have survived Durmstrang when he was just eleven. So, Draco was sent to Hogwarts when his time came, even though Durmstrang sent him a letter as well.
I went to Durmstrang the next year. I gathered my supplies in Diagon Alley though, unlike most of the other students who went to various other places, mostly around St. Petersburg, Krakow, and Moscow. I bought my wand at Ollivander's, where he proclaimed my wand's choice as "intriguing". Onco brought me shopping and when Mr. Ollivander looked at him, seemed unable to understand my wand, or maybe he was unnerved by it. My wand is 13 3/7" of yew with a phoenix feather core. Uncle Tom's wand was of yew and phoenix feather as well. Having a Death Eater bring in a child meant for Durmstrang and having a wand quite similar to that of the Dark Lord's choose her, well, it very well may have unnerved him.
I went to Durmstrang though. Durmstrang is similar yet different than Hogwarts. There are only three houses at Durmstrang, but the most noticeable difference is that you have two names while you attend there. One goal of Durmstrang, which I agree with, is that you fuse your masculine and feminine sides to create finesse and strength. Therefore, you choose a name of the opposite gender to add to your own. That is how everyone will refer to you there. I chose Aloysius, becoming Maria-Aloysius while I was a student. These names never are heard outside the walls though, unless one wants to discuss them. I was sorted into the strongest House at Durmstrang, the English translation being Tiger's Jowl. This House contained the strongest magically and mentally. We were the most cunning of all the Houses; the worst of the worst or the best of the best depending on how you look at things. I did not have the problems that John did.
Chief Warlock Greene: The bullying?
Maria Hanuschak: I will explain momentarily, sir.
Chief Warlock Greene: Proceed then.
Maria Hanuschak: Dueling is common at Durmstrang, unofficially encouraged actually. The Hanuschak name was; is, respected there. I was given some training prior to my attendance, though illegal; I was never caught. Onco taught me some very basic repulsions and offensive spells before sending me to school. It was one month into school when a fourth year challenged me. He did not think that I, being John's sister, could hold my own. He was told though, by other students of Josef and Mikhail's abilities, which were quite prodigious when I heard them. The boy was wrong in his presumptions about my abilities and was Stupefied before being sent down a flight of steps. No one bothered me for some time after that. I grew to have a reputation for being powerful and intelligent. I got nine Outstanding O.W.L.s and then four Outstanding N.E.W.T.s, plus Outstanding Durmstrang certificates in Legilimency, Occlumency, and Dark Arts Offensives. Yes, they do teach those there, if you can get into the classes. I graduated top of my class. At five feet even and a wraith in appearance, I may not have been imposing physically, but I knew more and could do more than anyone else there.