Viktor sat at the edge of his bed looking down at the model Firebolt his half-sister Nijole had sent him. His stomach was churning and he wanted to join the rest of the students who were playing out in the snow. Instead he read through the letters his family had sent him. The first was from Nijole that was written in her sloppy scrawl:

Viktor,

I miss you, mom keeps telling me to help clean up, but I don't want to. Dad is really proud, he's telling everyone he can about you being in the triwizard tournament. He says you're tied with Harry Potter for first place, that's amazing. Was facing the dragon scary? Did you cry when you saw it, I would have cried. I've got to go, mom says I have to help her in the kitchen. I really don't want to.

Love,

Nijole

P.S. You are going to a Yule Ball, correct? Who are you taking mom and dad won't tell me.

Viktor smiled down at the letter, he loved his sister Nijole, she could always make him laugh. He grabbed a piece of parchment and a quill and began a note to Nijole.

Ni,

I miss you too. You need to help mom clean and when I come back I'll be able to help you. Yes, I am in first place with Harry Potter, but, just between us, I think he should have first on his own. The way he flew was amazing, I'd like to play Quidditch against him one day. Yeah the Dragon was scary, but I was able to get past it without being hurt. Well, I should be going, because I have to get ready for the Yule Ball. Her name is Hermione, I'll tell you more about her later.

Love,

Viktor

Viktor set the letter aside, he would send it later. He looked out the window and saw Harry Potter along with his Ron and twin redheads that he assumed were Ron's brothers, having a snowball fight. He saw Hermione watching them. Her cheeks were a sharp red and he could see her shivering from where he sat. He continued to watch until she stood up and began to walk into the castle. Ron yelled something to her, she waived and he was pelted in the head by a snowball thrown by one of the twins. Viktor laughed out loud.

"What's so funny?" Vlad had entered the room he looked frozen.

"Nothing," Viktor turned away from the window. "So is Katerina getting ready?"

"She's been getting ready for hours," Vlad flopped down on the bed, "I don't think she'll ever finish getting ready."

They continued talking for a few hours more, Viktor occasionally looked out the window to watch the snowball fight going on outside. "Oh I got a letter from my mother today, she's in Africa, seems the mediwitches there are really shorthanded," Vlad was staring up at the ceiling. Vlad's mother Mariska was a mediwitch and worked around the globe, she had always wanted to help other people. Viktor looked out the window and saw that Harry and his friends had packed up and were heading back to the castle.

"I think we should start getting ready," Viktor offered turning from the window.

"You're probably right," Vlad said getting up off the bed.

A half hour later they were completely ready, and Viktor was staring into the mirror. His blood red robes fell off his shoulders in a regal fashion. Vlad looked over at Viktor, the black robes he wore made his narrow form seem even narrower, "So where are you meeting Hermy-own?"

"Outside the Great Hall," Viktor looked over himself one more time before stepping toward the door. "I'll meet you later."

Viktor stepped out of the Durmstrang ship and large, lazy flakes fell softly to the ground. He stood for a second before heading for the castle. When he got inside he shook the large flakes out of his hair. He looked up the staircase anxiously awaiting Hermione's arrival as people pushed around him looking for their dates.


A/N: First you pronounce Mariska Ma-rish-ka. She plays Olivia Benson on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and being that I adore her I felt I should inject her in here somewhere. Anyways, I know I left off right before the actual Yule Ball happens, but that is for a good reason. I'm under a lot of stress and I want to be sure to do the Yule Ball justice, so it will be up after finals (my last final is Dec. 14th) and it will be great. Also, I've been reading over some of my recent chapters and I feel they might not be as good as my earlier ones, so if you could let me know if I'm just being overly critical or not. Well, T.T.F.N. ta-ta-for-now