Classes continued as usual. Most of the new students had settled in well, except for Brandon who'd rather be cooped up in the dormitories than have to talk to people. It was for the best, Karlin had given up on the guy a long time ago.

He had noticed Suzume falling behind in the academics portion of her life at Koldovstoretz. Every evening, she'd leave the common area of the dorm room and go somewhere else, during the time most others would spend studying, especially if they weren't doing all too well. He had followed her one day, and found out that she was actually using her time to practice flying on trees. To her credit though, she had progressed a great deal.

It was a Friday afternoon, the last Transfiguration class of the week, and they were doing practical work, so if one surveyed the room, they'd see bright eyes and attentive faces everywhere. Karlin, as a liaison, was seated beside Suzume in case she needed any help, although she never asked him, and for good reason. He didn't exactly give off the most helpful vibe, especially when it came to studies.

They were practicing the teacup to gerbil spell. Molotov was sniffing around on their shared desk, occasionally trying to curl into Karlin's teacup while he was working on it. Suzume was brandishing her wand but to no avail. Her teacup still looked like she could drink tea from it without worrying about ingesting any rodent-carried germs. Karlin watched her trying to work from the corner of his eye, effectively abandoning his own work.

Eventually, she kept her wand down on the desk a little harder than usual, slumping in a frustrated manner.

He wouldn't have said anything if it wasn't for Molotov wriggling under his arm and pittering over to her. The little brown mouse nosed her gingerly and she looked over at him. Karlin knew his mouse could sense when someone wasn't in a great mood, and the latter being much nicer than his owner, tended to want to comfort the dejected person.

"Is this your mouse?"

"Yes," said Karlin, pulling him by the tail. Molotov squinted up at him with a reproachful glare, as if saying 'make her feel better'.

He made a face at his mouse to signal that no, he was not going to do that, and his finger was promptly nipped in response.

He hissed in pain, deciding that maybe offering help wasn't that bad of a way to go. If he looked back on his life, Molotov was the only person—mouse?—who could make him do something he didn't want to. "You, uh… need any help with that?" he whispered, half hoping she didn't hear him. He really wasn't a helpful person at heart.

No such luck. She glanced towards him, hesitating. Apparently having wrestled with herself internally, she finally nodded. "I… am not fluent in Russian. I have trouble understanding the lessons. And usually, I wouldn't care about school work, but if I don't pass here, it won't be counted as a successful program in my school. They care about grades a lot." she admitted. Karlin had pegged the Russian thing on the very first day he met her but he never realised how badly it was affecting her.

"Oh," was all he could say. "Then it was stupid of you to come to a school in Russia, wasn't it?"

Suzume bristled at his choice of words but then sighed. "Koldovstoretz was my first choice because Russians are known all over the world for Quidditch. Your country even won the World Cup this year. I just didn't realise I would have to know Russian well to keep up here. To be honest, I wasn't supposed to come. My grades weren't good enough, even in Mahoutokoro. But the girl who was supposed to come instead caught dragon pox, so I got moved up."

"Right." He wasn't expecting an explanation that detailed or that deep. Molotov took the chance to nip at his fingers again, as though reminding him why he spoke to her. "Well, I would translate for you, but I don't know Japanese. I can simplify things, maybe?" he tried, taking care to keep his wording concise.

From somewhere behind, a dark-haired boy butted into the conversation. "Good morning, hi, Michail Melikov here. If you need any help, I'd be happy to assist."

Karlin whirled around. "What are you trying to do, Melikov?" he snarled, narrowing his eyes dangerously. Michail and Karlin were in the same house dorm, and Karlin couldn't stand the guy's wily behaviour. If it was anyone else who had offered to help, Karlin would have let them do it. Probably.

"Be softer," said Suzume, shooting a glance at Professor Ivanova. "She might hear you."

"She can't do anything to me." Karlin turned his scornful attention back to Michail. "As I was saying, what are you doing?"

"Offering to help this beautiful girl from Japan. Suzume Shimoda, I think your name is?" He had the audacity to wink at her. "Unless, of course, you mind, Karlin," he added with fake sugary sweetness.

He gnashed his teeth. "I do mind, actually. Next time, Michail, mind your own business. Just don't come out of your books. That's the only thing you're good at, after all." To an observer, the insult wasn't all that hurtful, but that was only because they didn't know what was behind the double-edged tone.

Michail needed to go for the exchange program this year since he had aspirations of working outside Russia, but his application was rejected because he wasn't well-rounded enough. The time after his name wasn't called out for the school he wanted to go to were gloomy days for the Vizantiya boys' dorm, full of Howlers from his parents because he had disappointed them. It was a low blow, Karlin knew that, but he didn't really care.

Michail's expression darkened, but he didn't respond. A smart move on his part because Karlin had plenty more where that came from.

He turned back to Suzume who had been watching the short spat, her face unreadable. She probably hadn't realised how ugly the argument could have turned if Michail wasn't scared of Karlin. "That wasn't very nice," she stated, looking back at Michail.

"He'll get over it. Now, where were we? Oh, yes, I could simplify the lessons for you, if you want."

"I know English. Does that help?" she said doubtfully.

He knew English too. His syntax wasn't perfect, but his grasp of the language was comparatively good, even when put up against some native English speakers. "English works. I can translate my notes for the classes we share, but for you'll need to borrow Charms notes from someone else. Try Khristina Agapova or Pavel Belsky. Actually, Belsky's smarter. He's one of the other two liaisons, I'm not sure if you remember them, but if he's reluctant, just say that Karlin Zolotov has asked for it."

He almost thought she wasn't going to reply, but then she said, "Thanks, Karlin."


He had woken up late, having stayed up till the wee hours of morning to work on a Potions essay. As a liaison, he was given his own room in the main school near the foreign student common dorms, so he didn't know if everyone else had gone for breakfast already. In all probability, they had, if they didn't want to miss the daily school assembly. Students weren't strictly allowed to miss the assembly, but he was obviously an exception to the rule. The clock on the wall told him he could still make it down in time before the dishes were all cleared.

Of course, if he did miss it, he could always get more food from his grandfather. But he'd rather not have to make that detour unless absolutely necessary.

He got ready in record time, which in hindsight wasn't a great decision on his part because it didn't give him enough time to really wake up. This was why, as he made his way down to the Assembly Hall, he was still yawning and his eyes were somewhat bleary.

The Hall was emptier than usual, testament to how late he was. There was plenty of food still left, however. Karlin didn't go around searching for people, and instead simply sat at the table nearest to him, piling syrniki pancakes onto his plate.

Suzume was sitting close by, but her plate was abandoned to the side. Instead, she was surrounded by a number of packages which she kept tearing open one by one. From his vantage point, he couldn't quite make out what she was taking out of each wrapped gift. It looked like packets of food, but he couldn't read the writing on them. There were a lot around her, and Karlin's curiosity was piqued.

"What are those for?"

She glanced towards him for a split second, before going back to her unwrapping. "It's my birthday today. My friends from home sent me these Japanese snacks I've been craving for a while."

"I see." After an awkward pause, he realised he should probably wish her. "Happy birthday, I guess."

She snorted, and then hastily turned it into a cough. "You could at least try to be a bit more enthusiastic, you know? But thank you." As she was speaking, a huge dark owl swooped in and plonked itself on the table between the two of them. "Katsu!" she exclaimed, but Karlin wasn't paying attention to her any longer.

To his horror, the horrendous owl began eyeing his pancakes with its terrifying orange eyes, full of anger and menace. It clacked its sharp beak, and began advancing towards him in slow motion. Or maybe it just felt that way. Whatever it was, Karlin refused to stand the attack for even one moment further. Flailing his arms in an attempt to ward the thing away, he jumped out of his seat in panic. "Get that creature away from me!" he screeched. Heads began turning in his direction, but he didn't care.

"Katsu!" Suzume called again, her tone becoming sharper. The owl turned its head around. She said something once more, but this time it was in Japanese, on hearing which the owl flew towards her. She patted its head and offered it food from her own plate which it gobbled down gleefully. "Karlin, meet my owl, Katsu."

"… this thing is yours?"

"Yeah," she said brightly. "You want to pat him?"

"No!" he snapped with vehemence. "Get it out of my sight."

She shrugged. "Suit yourself." Addressing that blasted owl once more, she spoke in Japanese. It seemed to understand, but wasn't very happy about it, as it fixed her with a sullen glare while it flew off. "Why are you so scared of him?" Suzume asked suddenly.

"Pardon?" Caught off-guard, that was the only thing he said as he went to sit down again.

"Why were you so scared of Katsu? He's only an owl."

"I am not some scared child who is afraid of an owl," he huffed. "I just have a severe hatred towards them and would rather not go near one if I can help it. They are horrible creatures, with literal weapons on their bodies. I think a better question is how anyone can like them."

"You screamed when you saw him." She raised her eyebrow.

"I did not!"

"Yes, you did. Come on. Tell me, tell me, tell me. I promise I won't tell anyone." She had been sitting a little ways off from him, but she slid across from her place, closing the distance between them. Since he had been translating his notes for her and helping her with Russian, she had become a lot more comfortable around him. Which wasn't necessarily a good thing when it came to times like these.

He rolled his eyes. "I've already told you. Owls are the worst. It doesn't help that they're the natural predators of this little guy." Molotov had been curled up in his pocket for the duration of his breakfast. Karlin nudged him out, and he peeked from the pocket opening, blinking with his pure black eyes.

"That's fair. Your mouse is very cute."

"He's a complete rascal," he retorted, ruffling the top of Molotov's head to show he didn't mean anything by it. "Do you have any plans today?"

"What?"

"It's your birthday. Are you gonna do anything? Maybe go down to Sevevskoy or something?"

"What's Sevevskoy?"

"I didn't tell you about it?" At the shake of her head, he explained, "Sevevskoy is an island nearby. It's sort of like a small village, minus people actually living there. We're usually allowed on weekends or after school if we take permission from a teacher. They have practically everything there, from confectionaries and joke shops to things like uniforms and school material. It's great. Remind me to take you one of these days."

"Sounds good. About my plans…" Her eyes moved side to side conspiratorially. "Promise me you won't tell anyone?"

This sounded bad. But he might as well agree, if only to go back on his word if need arose. "Sure."

"Talita and Imani are planning a party in the common dorm this evening!" she squealed, her hands clapping in delight, before realising she was too loud. She continued in a lower voice, "it's supposed to be the six of us and the liaisons but we weren't planning on telling you guys until right before the party began so you couldn't stop us. But you won't, right?"

A party wasn't strictly permitted, especially in the dormitories, but who was Karlin to deny such a request? Okay, well, he was a liaison and an ex-prefect and he pretty much had North School Captain in the bag next year, but a party was simply some harmless fun. Besides, he was invited to it so he had no reason to be petty and get it called off. "No, your secret is safe with me. But I may not be able to attend."

"What?" Her brow furrowed. "Why not?"

"There's a match against West Blue in a week. I need to look over Quidditch plays with Sacha this evening so that we're ready for practice tomorrow."

"Okay, I love Quidditch as much as the next person—no, scratch that, way more than the next person, but can't you take off for tonight?" she pleaded. "We can discuss plays tomorrow, I want to help with them too. If Sacha is leaning towards a no, then just bring him along to the party." Karlin idly thought that her priorities were probably less aligned with him actually being at the party and more with getting in on the Quidditch strategising. "On second thought, bring the whole North Red team along. Imani wanted some 'hot Russian dudes' there."

"I'm a hot Russian dude."

She smacked his arm playfully. "You don't count. Obviously. Plus, I'm pretty sure the others are tired of you. You can be… really difficult at times."

"Excuse me? I am not difficult. Who said that about me? I'll give them a piece of my min—"

"See. You're being like that again. Maybe take it down a little. A lot. Also, I think they may be a little scared of you since you snapped at Luis on the first day." Her tone was matter-of-fact, not malicious in the slightest, but Karlin still couldn't help being offended.

He scoffed at the first part of her statements. "It's not my fault everyone's jealous of how great I am, so they feel the need to attack me with their words."

Suzume opened her mouth as though she wanted to argue, but thought the better of it. "Okay," she said, changing the subject, "so if you bring the team, and the others bring some friends they've made—"

He raised his eyebrow. "What happened to only the six of you and the liaisons?"

A mischievous glint came into her eye. "Well, I couldn't give everything away at the very beginning, could I? You could have snitched on us."

He couldn't stifle a chuckle, despite the souring of his mood. "Alright, yeah, I'll bring Sacha and a few other 'hot Russian dudes' as you so want. But not the whole team. I can't stand Sonechka, she's one of the most annoying people I've had the misfortune to meet. And Franziska hates me since I got to be the assistant captain over her."

"Hey, no, Sonechka is awesome," she protested. "She's so much fun! Don't leave her out. She has been asking me to introduce her to Nikolaj, so this would be the perfect chance."

He groaned. "Fine. But no Franziska."

"Okay. No Franziska. But she's going to hate you even more if she finds out she's the only person not coming."

"I really don't care."


The scoreboard read 0-0.

They were in the match against West Blue, and it was a crucial game. The game had been going on for at least a third of an hour, but no team had managed to score. They were that evenly matched. Not a single Chaser could shoot the Quaffle without the opposing Keeper blocking it. The Snitch hadn't been seen since it had been released at the beginning of the match.

Karlin shivered in the cold December nip, beginning to get agitated, which was never a good thing. He tended to miss saves when he got frustrated at the lack of action. Stuck defending the hoops at the far end of the pitch, he started instinctively fidgeting with a bump, brittle from the frost, on the bark of his tree.

The Quaffle was around the middle of the pitch, being tossed among the Chasers like a salad. Suzume and the other Beaters were circling them, watching out for the Bludgers that were punched away with metal-on-metal thwacks loud enough to be heard through the pitch. The Seekers were zooming around the stands, keeping an eye out for the Snitch, though it was clear that they were getting as annoyed as him at the stagnant game.

With his eyes alternating between fixating on the game and his tree, he almost didn't notice the Bludger speeding towards him at full speed. The only thing that alerted him to its presence was the telltale thumping sound the ball made. With less than a second to spare, he rolled out of its way with a flawless 360º turn.

On his other side, Suzume had arrived. It had turned out that as a natural flier, all she needed was a few practices until she became confident on a tree trunk. She resolutely whacked the Bludger away from his vicinity. He nodded in her direction to acknowledge her game, and that's where he made his first mistake.

He hadn't realised the Quaffle had travelled to his end of the pitch.

He saw the West Blue players handling the large red ball too late, and couldn't make it in time to stop the goal. The Quaffle flew through the hoops in slow-motion, prolonging his agony. The bulk of the tree he was riding felt like it was dragging him back, and for the first and only time in his life, he wished he was on a lighter broomstick instead.

Spectators throughout the stands cried up in a swell of blue in support of the other team, the sound of which masked his frustrated "cyka blyat!". The scoreboard changed to 10-0 with the most obnoxious ding! one would ever hear, another blow to Karlin's ego. He gritted his teeth at the sight of the smiling blue-clothed players, wishing he could punch the scoring Chaser in his smug face.

That stupid mistake succeeded in rattling Karlin—since it was a game where he hadn't let a single Chaser score but an easily avoidable distraction cost him his streak. When he was rattled, he tended to get aggressive which wasn't always a good thing. Sure, it meant better saves, but it also meant worse fumbles. And that was exactly what happened. By the time Sacha called for a time-out, he had let in three more goals as opposed to the one the North Red Chasers had got in.

"K-Karlin, what are you d-d-doing?" Strands of Suzume's midnight black hair had fallen out of the bun she had put her hair up in, but she made no effort to brush them away. Her eyebrows knitted into her face as she chastised him, her teeth chattering, her body not used to the freezing Russian climate. "You can do a lot b-better than… whatever t-t-that was!"

"I know," he snapped. "You don't have to remind me."

"Lay off, Shimoda," Sacha reprimanded. "She's right though. You're an incredible Keeper, Zolotov, but even you know you're not at your best as of now. Just… relax. There's still time. We can pull up, but we need you to stop any incoming goals. Okay?"

He looked away, working his jaw. And then after a deep breath, he nodded. "Yeah."

"Awesome. Okay, people, we need to change our style of play!" He rubbed his palms together, a deranged spark appearing in his hazel eyes. "Franziska, there's not much to say. Keep your eye out for the Snitch. It makes a tapping sound so keep your ears open for it too. Rybakova, Erik, arrow formation at my five and seven. Watch out for the West Blue Chasers, circle them when opportunity arises and nick the Quaffle. Sonechka, Shimoda… do what you were doing but hit harder. Knock the Blues off their trees if you can."

"Wait, no," Karlin interrupted, having calmed down somewhat. "I noticed Suzume hitting the Bludgers very strategically. Right at the West Blue Chasers when they were about to catch the Quaffle. Sonechka, follow her lead, then both of you pull the double Bludger fold when they're near the other hoops so that their Keeper gets distracted long enough for one of us to score." He pretended not to notice Franziska shooting him a dirty look. She was still salty after Karlin had gotten the assistant captain position over her.

If Suzume tried to stand up any straighter, her spine would bend backwards. She puffed out her chest with pride at her work being recognised.

Sacha hummed approvingly. "That's good. Do what he says. Then Erik, Rybakova, and I can work those feints we practised. Everyone's clear on the plan?"

A single "Yes!" rang through the team in unison.

With a new resolve flowing through him, Karlin mounted his tree and kicked off into the sky. Conditions weren't great but they weren't bad either. Not much air resistance because it had snowed in the morning, but the cold was harsh, especially since they were wearing only their light Quidditch gear. The sun wasn't glaring so he didn't need to squint. He flew back to the hoops he was supposed to defend, this time making sure he had eyes on all the players. And when the whistle blew, he was ready.

The next part of the game went a lot better. His saves improved drastically, now that he had a level head. And it turned out the new strategy completely changed the direction of gameplay.

Suzume was particularly ruthless while playing, hitting Bludgers left and right, and in general, being the perfect distraction to provide opportunities for the North Red Chasers to score. She took charge with admirable fervour, steering Sonechka to the right spots, and improvising in ways one could have never thought of when the time called for it. While most Beaters concentrated on getting the Bludgers away from them and their teammates, she stayed close to the balls to make shots easier.

When the Snitch was finally caught,—Franziska wasn't a good-for-nothing, it seemed—North Red were up by sixty points, a huge margin when both teams were that evenly matched.

The ceremonial closing handshakes were the most fun, especially the gloating over the losers part. The teams passed each other in two lines moving opposite to each other so that every player would have the chance to shake the hand of every member of the opposing team. By the time Karlin got to the West Blue Keeper, he didn't even try to stop the smug grin on his face. Valentina Kuznetsova, as the West Blue Captain and Seeker, was fuming when she shook Karlin's hand, gripping much tighter than necessary.

Finally, the formalities were over and done with, the ritualistic team celebration began inside, away from the bitter cold. Suzume was the first to screech, a sound reminiscent of her terrifying owl. "We did it! We did it, we did it, we did it! Next match is East Blue and then we're into the quarter-finals!"

Karlin laughed, her enthusiasm rubbing off on him. "East Blue's easy, we'll beat them in no time. We've got this in the bag!"

"Yes!" She bounded over to him, her rosy face beaming. "... as long as you don't play as badly as the first part of today's game."

"Hey—"

"I'm kidding," she swatted at his elbow. He almost hissed when her icy skin came in contact with his. "Loosen up a little."

"Everyone!" Sacha called over the excited din. "Good game, guys! Fran, that was an awesome catch, I almost thought you'd lose it. Karlin, great saves, as always. You really picked it up after the time-out. Suzume, Sonechka, we got in multiple goals thanks to your well-timed Bludger hits. Erik and Yelena, you both were perfectly in sync, and I honestly couldn't ask for better co-Chasers. Keep it up!"

"Tch, Sacha, don't downplay yourself," Franziska called. "You were amazing out there on the field."

"Hear, hear!" responded Erik, and the rest of the team followed in affirmation.

Sacha's bashful cheeks went redder than they already were. "You're too nice to me. You know what? If and when we win the East Blue match, I'll get permission and we can go down to Sevevskoy as a team. My treat."

The roar of agreement was deafening.


He ran across Suzume just as he was entering the foreign common dorms that afternoon. It was the day before Catholic Christmas, and he had just come back to school from home. "Hey, Karlin. Where were you yesterday? I didn't see you anywhere, not even in classes," she spoke casually from her seat beside Talita on the thickly carpeted floor.

The winter holidays had begun from that day and would stretch well into January. He usually spent them at home, but as a liaison, he had a duty to stay back in school to keep the international students company. He'd probably have made a fuss if his house wasn't right around the corner.

"I went home," came his compact reply.

"Oh. What? Why?" she asked, getting up.

"It was my birthday. Grandfather and I spent the day with my grandmother like we do every year, so I got a day off from school. Well, there were some other relatives, but they're not my favourite."

"Belated happy birthday, Karlin!" Talita wished him, still on the floor. She had parchment with illegible writing on it strewn around her which she had begun turning over so he couldn't see what was on them. She and Suzume had probably been working on some scheme or the other before he had come in. If he was Khristina or Pavel, he'd probably care more.

"Yeah, belated happy birthday!" Suzume echoed Talita brightly, paying no heed to her friend's haste. "How was your day?"

"Thanks, you two. And wait a little, I'll tell you on the way," he said, starting towards his room, but was stopped by Suzume's tree-scratched palm tapping his shoulder.

"On the way? On the way where?"

He stopped in his tracks, his eyes flitting towards Talita who was very clearly eavesdropping on their conversation. It didn't matter all that much, however, so Karlin decided to say, "I need to go back home. My grandmother said she needs a bit of time to get some food for my food stash ready, so I decided to check whether the Kikirabos messed up while setting up my room."

She tilted her head, her expression blank. "Kiki-what? What does this have to—I'm still confused."

He sighed. "In about half an hour, I need to go back home to get some things. You're coming with me because I don't feel like going alone."

"But Talita and I were…" she shared a glance with the curly-haired Castelobruxo girl and they seemed to come to a mutual understanding. "Okay, if you're sure you can handle it by yourself after I'm gone." She turned back to Karlin. "So, half an hour then?"


They were on their way to Karlin's house. It wasn't very far, but it was snowing. Students had trampled all over the covered pathways, turning the white into grey slush that was fast becoming white again. The usually overgrown ivied walls of the castle lay bare in the winter climate. The flakes floated down, soaking into his skin with a chill he was used to. He almost never wore the school coat, even if it meant freezing to death, and thus, had no protection from the snowfall. He was used to it, but Suzume was looking around with keen interest.

"It doesn't snow much in Japan," she commented, pulling the thick ugly Koldovstoretz-sanctioned coat closer around her Muggle clothes. "You're so lucky you get to see this much snow every year. Though it is very cold."

"Yes, Suzume, snow is cold. Good observation."

"You know what I mean!"

He chuckled, the air in front of him condensing into mist when coming into contact with his breath. Stuffing his hands into his pockets, he realised he had forgotten his gloves and his hat. It was too late to turn back by then, and he definitely didn't want to take the long route. He needed to get some decent-looking warm clothes from his grandmother, now that he was going there anyway.

"So," said Suzume, breaking him out of his thoughts, "any plans for tomorrow? You did just get a whole day off, but I'm assuming you have something to do over Christmas as well."

He arched an eyebrow. "In Russia, we don't celebrate Christmas tomorrow. It is on the seventh of January. Did you not know that?"

A beat. And then she wailed, "What? Nooooo! The others and I planned a Secret Santa. We're supposed to exchange gifts tomorrow because we thought it'd be Christmas. We could still do it but it won't feel the same now."

"Exchange the gifts in January," Karlin suggested.

She grimaced. "No, thank you. I've waited long enough to learn who my Secret Santa is. I am not going to sit through another…" she counted the days on her fingers, "two weeks of nervous waiting. Plus, I want to see how Nikolaj reacts to what I got him. It's a ruby red Remembrall which Talita charmed to actually show him what he's forgotten. You have no idea how forgetful that boy is."

She chattered on as they walked, Karlin also conversing when he had something to say—which was a lot of the time—, until they arrived at the small but imposing fortress-like structure at the edge of the island, overlooking the West student school. From the outside, it wasn't a very homely home. However, Karlin liked it, and that was what mattered.

He knocked on the old wooden front door. It creaked open by itself due to the charms set on it. "Karlin Zolotov with Suzume Shimoda," he announced.

"What was that for?"

"Protective spells on the door." He entered the house, wiping his shoes on the welcome mat, glad to have gotten out of the frosty air. Suzume followed him, doing the same. The door slammed shut behind them. "It'll let anyone with permission enter instead of blasting them away from the house. If you tried to enter before I said your name, you'd probably be flying off to the main school by now."

"Really?" She took off her snow-flecked black shoes and put them to the side, something Karlin took note of but didn't comment on. Japanese culture, probably.

"No. At worst, you'd sustain a few minor injuries. We can't be blasting kids across the island in the name of security, you understand?"

They were interrupted by the approach of a short old woman ambling towards them. She had a kind and open face, and eyes that said she smiled a lot. She came to halt in front of the pair. "Karlin! Just in time. And who is this young lady?"

Suzume stepped forward off the mat to introduce herself, and immediately winced. "Ow, ow! Cold!" She pranced from one bare foot to the other, not having expected the sting of the marble to be so pronounced.

"Put your shoes on." He resisted the urge to facepalm. "Grandmother, this is Suzume Shimoda from Mahoutokoro. She's one of the exchange students Koldovstoretz is hosting this year. Suzume, meet Darya Zolotov, my grandmother."

"It's… nice… to meet… you… Madam," Suzume forced out in the midst of tugging her shoes on, hopping as she pulled on each shoe.

"Mahoutokoro…" Darya frowned before her features lit up in recognition. "Oh! You're the Japanese girl! Both Karlin and Dmitri have told me about you. According to them, you fly extremely well."

Suzume's cheeks turned ruddy at the compliment. "Thank you, Mrs. Zolotov."

Her gaze turned onto Karlin now, shifting into one of concern. "Where are the warm clothes I left out for you? You must have been freezing out there! How many times have I told you to wear your winter uniform if you don't have adequate woollens? Those thin muggle T-shirts are not going to keep the cold out. I swear to Baba Yaga, if you catch a fever right before New Year—"

"But I hate the winter uniform," he whined.

Beside him, Suzume snickered.

He shot her a glare, but it had no real bite to it, before going back to his grandmother. "Besides, I was going to pick them up now."

Darya tutted. "Suzume, dear, you seem like a smart girl. Make sure my grandson takes his things back to the school. I don't want him falling ill."

Suzume's face split into an infernal grin. "Of course, Mrs. Zolotov."

"Oh!" she exclaimed. "How could I not realise? You two must be hungry. Come to the dining table. I'll whip up something. Are you a vegetarian, by any chance?"

"Not at all," Suzume confirmed.

"Great. I can make some Kiev. Go with Karlin, he knows the way." With that and a friendly smile, she dashed off towards the kitchen. His grandmother could make amazing chicken Kiev and Karlin was glad he came.

"She's so nice!" said Suzume. "Are you sure she's related to you?"

"Shut up, Shimoda."


(A/N): And there you have it, another part up. Which means I've finished writing this AU and am free to work on the other ACoR one-shot idea I had! Woohoo! I'll post the last part the next time there's a gap between ACoR chapters (someone, please remind me if I forget).

Fun fact - I'm actually changing teeny bits of the Koldovstoretz lore I gave Green because I'm a dumb-dumb who didn't think things through properly while she was cramming almost 2k of extra words on her form. Also, apologies in advance to Rysa in case I'm portraying Suzume incorrectly.

Anyway, see y'all next time!

- Llama