As most people are aware the world is a beautiful and diverse place, full of scientific contradictions in itself. Time and metaphysics and magical happenings can oftentimes be explained using the same methods.
In a typical society children would learn to explain some of them with different classes of science, but within the respective countries' subcultural wizarding societies they would learn, in their own way, how to use this knowledge to forcefully bend reality. It's imagined to be a dangerous skill to have by ordinary humans and so the use of magic stays a centuries old fairytale for the safety of the Wizarding. But the magic exists, unbeknownst to even the oldest scholars, everywhere and in everyone. Naturally you can expect this power to be something so mundane, it stares you in the face every day. For one of the greatest and most powerful miracles of all is love.
In a beautiful small cobblestone town in the alpine mountains of Germany and Switzerland, surrounded by flowery hills and grazing cows, a sleek looking train slowly comes to a halt at its station. It looks deeply out of place with its surroundings of cute half timbered houses and farms and yet this was an often occurrence. Among the share of passengers that exit the sliding doors, the head of a very tall young man sticks out of the masses. He seems to linger and then swim towards the nearest wall.
As the crowd turns into a trickle of people, he takes a deep breath and takes time to feel the sun on his face. It was a long and lonely train ride. And whilst he had enjoyed it, he was happy to have arrived.
Supposedly he was going to get picked up by a school official and so he decides to wait and whip out his journal for some poetic impressions.
A man that had been lingering among other waiting passengers seems to have watched him exit. It was indeed easy to spot the new arrival in the crowd, just like he'd been told. After a few moments of waiting to be certain, he comes over and greets him.
"Hello, you must be Ivan, I assume. My name is Arminius Beilschmidt and I'm the vice principal of our school. It's nice to finally meet you in person. I'm very pleased to welcome you to Trithemius."
He reaches out a hand, which Ivan grabs and shakes lazily. Even Ivans hands are large and they feel cold and boney.
"Thank you. I'm happy to have the chance. It is my first time in a foreign country.", he says with a surprisingly soft voice and a noticeably slavic accent.
"Yes, I am sure it's very different. I have actually been to Novgorod before, a couple of years ago. They are very selective, but bring forth the brightest minds this century. Which makes sense to me, knowing how strict the curriculum is. It may be a bit of a culture shock for you. But I hope you will soon feel at home here. We would like you to be comfortable, of course. But it seems like language won't be a problem for you."
Ivan hesitantly smiles at him and replies: "I am excited to make new friends here."
"That's good to hear.", the principal says, sounding satisfied.
They walk toward a car in which a driver had been waiting for them, intently doing whatever with his phone that bore no reaction from him until the principal shows up in view. He immediately shuts down the device and gets ready to drive.
The student and the principal store his luggage and enter the car on the backseat.
"It is still a little bit of a drive, but you've almost made it.", he reassures Ivan, "This time we're taking a car."
Higher up in the mountains, across from a large forest and perfectly hidden from view, an old architecturally pompous structure stretches itself across a field, encasing the huge atrium of the school with thick stone walls. Down in that atrium sat a large fountain in the midst of a garden. The students present would mingle there on their breaks for lunch times and study sessions. One head full of shiny blonde hair leans against a pillar, watching the skies in anticipation, when suddenly something light falls flat on his face.
"What the…?", the young man unfolds the green paper frog that had jumped from a beam above and reads. A wide smile forms underneath the barely visible, incoming mustache. "Where are you? Show yourself, you coward!", he states loudly and looks around, waving the paper. Seemingly out of nowhere, another boy appears behind him and grabs him by the shoulders. "Surprise!", he exclaims.
The blonde one waves the note between his fingers: "Well, Antonio, it is somewhat impressive how your french actually got worse!"
This comment earns him a punch to the shoulder and the two of them laugh. Antonio sighs happily as he comes out of it, meanwhile the note magically folds itself up into a frog again. "I had to use a translator app, to be honest. You better put that away, before it jumps!"
As soon as he had said it, the paper frog makes a daring attempt at escaping from the hand it sits on. But it's quickly squashed flat and put away into the pants pockets of Antonio's friend, as a keepsake.
"Aw poor froggy.", he says compassionately, even though the frog wasn't more alive than a sticky note, "I really wanted to write what Professor Kirkland said to you in french, but I couldn't exactly ask you yourself for a translation, Francis."
Francis grins like a fox at the mention of this incident and shakes his head. "A frog, can you believe it? She could've at least tried to be original.", he mocks her with his best slander of a british accent. The two of them giggle together.
"Hey, Gilbert! We're here!", he calls out.
Another student comes hurrying down the hallway. He is white as chalk, right down to his eyelashes. Underneath shine two shockingly red eyes, wrinkled from his wide smile. As soon as he sees his boys, a grin appears on his face. He runs up to them and they exchange high fives and hugs before he steps away from them again. "Sorry gang, I don't have time. The old man wants to see me.", he says, to which Antonio gasps and comes closer. In a hushed voice he asks: "Don't tell me they figured out you cursed the
piano?"
Francis exchanges a quick look with those devilish red eyes and they snicker. "I seriously doubt that", Gilbert assures his worried friend, "He would've been much more angry when he asked for me."
"Roderich might actually start a fight if he ever found out who squashed his fingers.", Francis chimes in, "Oh, but how tempting!"
Gilbert crosses his arms and puffs his chest: "He deserves it for doubting my excellence."
His friends laugh and nod, agreeing strongly.
"Anyways, I've got to go, guys. I'll see you later at dinner!"
Gilbert hurries on and finds the directors office. He pushes open the heavy wooden door and inside sees the big boss himself, director Julius Vargas. He is sitting in midst of paperwork and random items strewn across his desk, waiting to be moved back to their original space in his office.
"You wanted to see me?", Gilbert asks him a bit hesitantly. The directors strangely youthful face lights up and he raises his finger, signaling he'll be with him after finishing whatever he was currently writing.
A pen then clacks down onto the table, the chair screeches back and the next moment, this huge tanned man's smile shines down on Gilbert. It could've blinded him.
"Gilbert! What a sight for sore eyes. I'm glad you could make it so fast because I have a big favor to ask of you. It's a bit short term, but I hope you can help us."
Upon hearing this he crosses his arms and smiles opportunistically, waiting for the director to continue.
"As you know, we will be housing yet another exchange student! He should've arrived here already. We're just waiting for them right now.", Gilbert can smell some desperation through that happy exterior of his guardian, "And now to the reason why I called you here.I want you to show him around. And I'm asking you nicely, if you could watch over him during his time here."
Gilberts expectant smile drops into a light frown along with his posture. "What? Why would I want to do that? I'm not sure why you thought of me to be honest. I have such a full schedule. Maybe not in the way that Ludwig has, but still!"
"I'll be honest, we wanted to have Ludwig do it. But when I suggested it to your Opa, he said I should rather ask you. Your brother is so in over his head since he's become student speaker. I'm surprised he finds time to brush his teeth at night. But I know how much you care about him. "
Gilbert only grunts at such a low blow to his brotherly love: "I know he is overly busy but more important for me is what I will get out of all this trouble. And, I mean, isn't there someone more qualified to do this?"
"You're a very naturally talented wizard, my good friend, Gilbert. I'm thinking, if you have enough time to come up with a hex to curse the grand piano, you can spent a couple of minutes a day doing something that looks good on your report. Like using your astounding sociability to help a stranger find himself in a new place."
Gil raises his eyebrows in shock upon hearing that he did get busted for his prank after all. He wants to ask "How did you know?". Something inside him alerts him that this will have certain consequences, no matter how much director Vargas is acting like there is an easy out..
The man continues with a sudden seriousness: "Look, I understand your apprehension. There is another reason why I'd like you to watch him. This is difficult for me to say. But I need to have eyes on him, because our new student is here from Novgorod. Their name may be familiar to you."
"Novgorod?", Gilbert asks, "Wait, didn't they get closed down a long time ago? I was a child when I heard about that."
"Ultimately, they weren't. They underwent changes that took a long time to implement. I don't want to get into the whole story right now, but a big part of those reparations involves this student exchange. It is important for them to be successful with it and it is also important to us, because it would be good PR. And we need that!", he smiles confidently at his student, with no doubt in his heart that they are being successful, "They specifically chose one of their top students and he speaks German fluently. While I don't want to assume bad intentions from him, Novgorod does have a complicated history. And I just want him to be safe. After all, he is also just a human with wants and needs. Like you and me."
He pauses to look at Gilbert.
"So, Gilbert. If I polish your records a bit and forget about the piano incident, will you do us all that favor?"
The pale young man shifts his weight from one foot to another, closing his eyes and posing his hand on his chin. He knows the answer he wants to give but still decides to let him wait.
"I'm just still wondering what else I could earn myself here. I could do it, or I could do it well."
"Aren't you bold!", the director bursts out laughing and takes a seat on the solid wooden table, "We can talk about that later. They are here!"
The door opens as if director Vargas had made them appear on purpose, trapping Gilbert with the decision to either take this responsibility or refuse right in front of his grandfather, who is the first to enter the room. He is stone faced and serious as always, hard to even get a chuckle out of. He sees Gilbert and gives him a nod, which his grandchildren know is meant to be a loving gesture.
The other person following him is a very tall young man, with ashen skin and weird eyes. He has to squint a little bit, but he's sure they don't look like any real eye color. It's a purple iris, maybe with something blue mixed in. But it looks unnatural. The other young man of course notices his staring and then smiles shyly. But something about it is off putting to Gilbert. It may be the eyes or some bias of his, but he does consider to have made a mistake. He quickly glances over at the head director Vargas but keeps his doubts to himself.
"Wonderful! Great timing! We're happy to have you here, Ivan. How was your travel?"
The director comes around the massive table to shake Ivan's hand. It looks just like what happens when you squeeze a filled pastry a little too much. In a bit of a hushed voice, Ivan replies to him: "It was… mostly long. I slept a lot.", and pulls his hand back, sort of shaking it out.
"Hah I bet you did!", the director claps his hands together, " Ivan, let me introduce you to Gilbert here. He has volunteered to show you around. But don't be afraid to branch out! I hope you'll find we have a good community here."
Ivan and Gilbert look at each other for an uncomfortable moment. Then Gilbert reaches out his hand and puts on an encouraging smile for him: "Hey! It's nice to meet you!"
Ivan takes his hand and gives it an unenthusiastic shake, then smiles at him and responds courteously: "Nice to meet you too."
Ivans cold hand leaves a weirdly lingering feeling in his and Gilbert has to resist wiping it off, instead casually slipping his hands in his pockets.
Professor Beilschmidt takes the word: "I have already shown Ivan his room. You will be neighbors, believe it or not."
Gilbert looks at his grandfather with a pained sort of smile. "There we go", he thinks, "For the piano incident". Unfortunately Gilbert can't pretend to be overjoyed. But he notices Ivan watching him and clenches his teeth.
"Wow, nice! Okay. Hello Neighbor.", he says at Ivan with a shrug.
"One more thing.", the vice director Beilschmidt hands Ivan a folded map of the school grounds, which he accepts and opens right away. A red mark seems to indicate his room.
"If you want to tour the school, you should hurry up now. Dinner is at four. And it's already 2:30."
The students leave director Vargas' office. It seems their conversation continues quietly as his grandfather's voice murmurs on. Gilbert feels an uneasy presence coming from behind him, but he tries to ignore it. It is definitely just an impulse to distrust the new student, because he'd been told where Ivan comes from. A dumb move by the director in his opinion. Not that he wouldn't have figured that out just from talking to Ivan. He slows down enough to be walking on his side.
"What was your name again?"
"It's Ivan."
It's quiet for a moment, but it seems Ivan doesn't want to elaborate further.
"Okay. I am Gilbert Beilschmidt, the prettier and more talented one of the brothers. If anyone asks."
"You're also a Beilschmidt?", his new school mate asks, surprised for some reason, "Are you related to the director?"
Gilbert looks at him to gauge his interest and nods proudly. "But I'm far from some teachers' pet. My brother is a big nerd, but me, I'm more of an entrepreneur."
He laughs at his own joke.
"I heard Ludwig Beilschmidt is your top student and he isn't even a last year. As expected from one of the great Beilschmidts, right? That's your brother?"
A bit hurt in his pride, Gilbert laughs and says: "Yes and you may just get lucky! He's usually extra busy, but I'm sure chances are good you will meet him. It sounds like you want to."
The giant tilts his head.
"With you and him both being top students, you guys probably have a lot to share with each other. Like lesson plans and heavy material and homework, or something. That's definitely not my kind of taste in adventure."
"Why not?", Ivan sounds so sincere that it throws Gilbert off for a moment.
"Well… Because it's boring?"
"It is important though."
He stops to look at Ivan, who seems very concerned with Gilberts supposed lack of interest in school matters. It's an expression that seems all too familiar to him and he can't help but smile.
"I predict you and Ludwig will get along great."
Gilbert gives Ivan a bit of a tour. True to the nature of the palace like structure, there were plenty of rooms and stairs to cover. Including the enormous atrium and one of the four towers from which it was easy to oversee the sports field by the large forest that hid the school, as well as the beautiful mountainscape around them. At night they had perfect insight into the stars' positions.
"Okay, here is my favorite part. Over there behind the trees is a sort of cliff with a cave on top. Can you see it? That is the aviary! That's where the creatures are kept and birds can sort of come and go. We have some dragons too! You'll probably get to see some, even if you don't care about racing.", he looks over at Ivan to see his reaction to the exciting news, but instead is met with ignorance as Ivan's eyes study the map again. He'd been more or less shuffling behind him the whole tour, rarely asking any meaningful questions. He kept his sentences noticeably short, and he smiled or didn't whenever he checked in on him, but he seemed disinterested either way. Gilbert is a little offended but he bites his tongue. He decides the rest of the palace was easy enough to be explored by Ivan himself and so he has them make their way downstairs. Ivan's huge frame is looming over Gilbert as they walk down the spiral staircase, sending paranoid shivers down his spine..
"You don't talk much, mh? Don't you have any questions?"
He shoots him a quick look and catches his eyes for a freezing moment.
"I had nothing to say. But I thought I shouldn't ask you questions.", he hears Ivan say and immediately feels his irritation growing again.
"What? Why?"
"Why what?"
"Who said you can't ask me questions? I'm supposed to help you around!"
"You said that stuff was boring to you and I didn't want to bore you."
Gilbert rolls his eyes, glad to be in front of Ivan for that. "Yes, I mean, the lessons and classes can be. I was kind of joking, you know? Look, whatever I don't know, I can help you figure out. How about that?"
Ivan smiles politely and shakes his head. "No, thank you."
"Asshole.", Gilbert thinks. But he doesn't expect much from him at this point anyways. As they walk towards their quarters, Gilbert keeps on explaining but noticeably less enthusiastic. "So what else is important? Breakfast is every morning from seven to nine, there is a lunch break around noon where you can get something at the kitchen. And dinner is at four in the afternoon. Which is in twenty minutes. Wow, that tour went by faster than I thought."
"Is food allowed in the rooms?"
Gilbert looks at him funny for that being his first and only question: "Uhm, yes?"
This seems to be enough to satisfy him already, as he nods and carries on looking around wistfully. The boy's whole being is puzzling to Gilbert, but he keeps reminding himself: He's from a different country with different mannerisms and he's from a different school with different ideals. He says it in his mind a few times to really rub it in.
"Are you all settled in?", he asks him as they arrive at their neighboring rooms. Ivan goes from watching grass grow to looking up at him with a flash of seriousness that bends Gilbert for a second.
"Do you like it here? Are they good people?"
He feels put on the spot for some reason and has to collect himself: "Uhh yeah I like it here. Of course I do. It's awesome! And the people, well, you've got to find that out yourself I think."
They lock eyes for a moment and Gilbert wonders if he was right to assume innocence of Ivan, proud of his patience.
"Yes, that makes sense. Thank you!"
"You're welcome! Alright, see you later!"
Gilbert hustles away and hears Ivan linger before he enters his room. He turns to make sure and Ivan is indeed gone, slowing him down a bit. He doesn't want to waste his time thinking about him, especially since he's going to be around for a while. But he already has a feeling in the pit of his stomach that this is going to be so annoying.
He makes a beeline through the atrium's elegant park installation and straight into the large open doors of the dining hall. At their usual spot sit Francis and Antonio, to his familiar relief already waiting for him. Antonio excitedly waves at Gilbert as soon as he sees him and Francis smiles and greets him: "Ah! Look what the cat dragged in. I guess late is better than never. What did they do to you? "
Gilbert sits down with the gang and sighs.
"So was it about the piano?", Antonio asks him worriedly.
Gilbert quickly shushes Toni and gives him a look, gesturing to Roderich who's sitting further down at another table. There sat a boy who stuck out for being unusually well dressed for a formal school setting and had his hair made up, eating sadly with bandages on his fingers. He didn't hear them speak in the pit of his despair and surrounded by the chatty rumoring of thousands of students mingling at once.
"You've been gone for a while, you know. We missed you!", Francis says to his oldest best friend at this school and beckons him to sit down. As he gets settled, Gilbert starts reporting his conflicting experience.
"It's weird. We got a new exchange student and they asked me to be his escort, if not to say I'm supposed to help him integrate or something."
While he sounds almost worried an audible gasp disrupts him and Antonio almost jumps from his seat.
"¿De veras?"
Gilbert smiles a little bit at his very excitable friend, knowing Ivan was in for a world of welcoming.
"Yes, but he's odd. And I'm being very kind for saying that. I can't tell if he was trying to piss me off or just… weird. He's also from that awful school up north. Novgorod. Do you know it Antonio?"
Francis smile drops as soon as Gilbert mentions the name of Ivan's school, but that doesn't deter Toni's good will.
"No, I haven't heard of it! So what if he's weird! He's is probably nervous, don't you think? He's probably going to turn out to be a really good guy! We have to give him that chance."
"Theoretically you're right. But you'll know what I mean when you meet him. I can't believe this is going to be my life right now."
"Come on my friend. I had a lot of trouble with Germany's customs too, at first!", Antonio says with the wisdom of a veteran exchange student. For him he was happier than ever to be at this school, especially now that he had found his people that had carried him throughout his stay here. And that is what he wants for Ivan as well.
Francis giggles a little bit and says: "No Antonio, you cant compare yourself to anyone else. It's not fair. Every time you enter a room, people cheer up."
"That's true.", Gilbert smirks and Francis directs his attention back at him.
"I guess since you're his chaperone, we won't get around meeting this con.", he says, "But you know what they say about a shared pain! I really hope you're right about him Toni. "
All of a sudden Francis stands up and slowly leans over the table to look at them dramatically, lowering his voice.
"If you haven't heard of Novgorod yet, let me give you a little insight because I happen to know some things. My mother had a russian gangster boyfriend for a while and that clown told me that they have these labyrinth like sewers running underneath the school that they used to put the segregated kids into. I think it was around 2010 that they got some bad push back and resorted to letting some magicians that weren't pure blooded enter the school. So, they couldn't deny them their magic but they could at least make their education hell. They were beaten and abused, if they made any mistakes they would be punished badly and a lot of children died. Some of them killed themselves. And I'm talking not only about the kids that weren't born into magic. All of them get treated like that if they fuck up."
Both of them look at Francis with obvious unease.
"But thats not how it still is today, ¿no?"
Francis shakes his head. "All I know is that I heard they had to close it down. Apparently I was wrong."
As soon as Francis finishes this sentence, Gilbert sees Ivan enter the hall. He easily sticks out in the crowd. Despite walking with his head down at times he's still taller than the average student. Gilbert watches him scan the room, easily spot him too due to looking like chalk, and make his way over. He curses his fair features and braces himself for the encounter.
"Hello. It's Gilbert, right?"
He appears to have changed out of the cloak into more comfortable apparel, with some black slacks and a grey sweater. Before he'd been wearing a robe all too similar to those of elderly wizards. It used to be a staple of fashion for any magician before the turn of the century and so it had made Ivan look older than he was. Now he seemed more casual to talk to, to Gilberts relief. He nods at the newcomer and smiles forcibly. Ivan seems to notice that and looks over at his friends. He awkwardly and half heartedly raises a hand for a little wave.
"Hi, I'm Ivan."
Before Ivan can finish saying his name, Antonio has stood up and grabbed on to Ivan's hand. His are very warm hands to Ivan and he wraps them around it tightly but gently with no need to reciprocate. Antonio's hazel brown skin is clashing with Ivan's silvery white. The young latino beams at him with overwhelming excitement.
"I am Antonio! And this is Francis! Welcome at our school, Ivan!"
Ivan looks more awake than ever. He is clearly surprised and even his cheeks turn a bit red from the overwhelm. His eyes quickly find Gilberts as if to ask for help. Then he laughs a little bit, sounding confused.
"Thank you?"
"I'm also an exchange student here! Two years now!"
Ivans smile seems frozen to his lips but his eyes speak for his lack of words. He only hums understandingly as a reply.
Avoiding their eyes, he pulls back his hand. Toni can feel that something had been upset, so he readily lets Ivan's hand go and leaves him be. While Antonio sits down again, Ivan takes a note out of his journal and passes it to Gilbert. Who looks at the folded paper, then up at Ivan and asks: "What's this?"
"I did have some questions, but didn't want to hold you up too much. You can write down the answers beneath them and give the note back to me. Does that work for you?"
Gilbert looks at him for a couple of seconds, before patting the table with his flat hand. "Why don't you just sit down and join us? Then shoot your questions. Three minds think better than one. Right guys?"
Looking over at Francis they notice he'd been glaring at Ivan. Whether this was purposeful or not, the message was received. Ivan blinks and ponders for a moment before deciding.
"I guess I could do that."
He sits down, still cradling the note between his fingers.
"So what were your questions?"
"I think I would prefer you just write down the answers for me."
He tries to pass Gilbert the note once more, who groans a little bit and snatches it out of his hand.
"Okay I'll do that later. So what, didn't you come here to eat, at least? Grab a plate and let's have dinner together! Get to know the neighborhood!", he proudly looks around the best people he knows, but Francis is very obviously not enthused.
"How do you like the school, Ivan?", Antonio asks him as soon as Ivan comes back with that plate. He hadn't taken much of anything that was provided along the walls, from salads over pastries, meats and noodles to deserts. All Ivan took was some meat and bread, presumably to make a sandwich of. He seems happy to be asked about his impression of the school.
"I love it!", he sounds uncharacteristically enthusiastic and goes on to quietly mumble something to himself before continuing: "Что это такое? Дворец? (What is it? A palace?) It's such a beautiful school. Gilbert gave me a tour earlier and I was very impressed. You can tell it's history is etched in this stone by time, carried on the shoulders of students over many years. Like water trough mountain caves. It has personality because it's been lived at. It actually reminds me a little bit of home. Of course our school is smaller. Yours is like a mansion!"
While Gilbert ponders which part of the tour had been so impressive to Ivan, or if he just missed it, Antonio hangs on Ivan's lips for that description: "Wow that was beautiful amígo… I never thought about it that deeply!"
Francis rolls his eyes and gestures with his fork at him: "What about your school, mh? Must be very different from here."
Ivan looks at Francis, who's not even trying to fake being hospitable. It's an uncomfortable, tense moment of silence that only lasts seconds but makes Gilbert want to cut in and grab the wheel from Francis hand. Before he can do so, Ivan answers him.
"It's very different. We live in an old monastery. They did provide better heating with the recent renovations but it can get really cold in the winter at times. It's very, very old and has been repurposed as a school a long time ago. I love it because of it's ancient history! It feels almost like living inside a museum. There are old paintings, some of them religious, and the floor boards have indents and creak sometimes when you walk on them. Especially the stairs!", he adds with delight, "But it didn't sound like that's what you wanted to know."
"That sounds nice! I wish we could see it someday. We were just wondering because there are some nasty rumors about your school."
Francis isn't happy that Antonio brought that up, but he holds his mouth shut and keeps on eating.
"Дa. I mean, yes. That's not a secret. If you want to know more about it, I will try to answer any of your questions."
There is a pause. The trio had not expected this offer to come from Ivan and except for Toni, they almost feel like walking into a trap. Francis sets his cutlery down and looks to be interested.
"Alright, I'd like to know something. Is it true that the school got closed down?"
It is somewhat surprising to his friends that he started out with such a surface question. But Ivan nods and true to his words he starts explaining.
"Yes, that was for renovations. Like I said, our school is a very old building. Now the quarters are better shielded from the elements. The previous director was removed due to complaints about abuse towards the students. Which were true.", he seems to specifically say that to Francis, "And the new one is a more success oriented person. He implemented many changes to make life more comfortable for the students and wants to open the school again for the half- wizards. In a way, me being here has something to do with it."
Francis gives Gilbert a look at the mention of half-wizards."What do you mean?", Antonio wants to know.
"Novgorod was notorious for segregation between mudbloods and real wizards. However, the times and people have changed as you already know. We're making an effort to break out of that and leave our troubled past behind. It's hard to be more inclusive while also retaining our high standards. I am their very first exchange student. Sort of to prove something to the world. Maybe people will see that it's actually a good school now and want to visit."
Everyone was visibly perturbed by Ivan's nonchalant usage of the slur for wizards with human heritage, so much they don't notice Ivan's uncomfortable shifting in his seat upon explaining his role within all of it.
"So, why did you choose to come here?", Gilbert picks up the conversation. The stranger seems to become flustered at this question and fiddles with his clothing while he searches for words.
"It's because I wanted to come and I just happened to be speaking German. Nobody else qualified. But I've always wanted to visit other countries. And see the world. That's why I've learned the languages."
Antonio is shocked and impressed: "¿Qué?, you're not using potions to speak german? Your German is so good! It took me so long to speak without help!"
"Why did you learn German?", Gilbert asks curiously, being the only German born person on this table and proud of it.
The giants purple eyes light up at the question and it looks like he has to hold his excitement back.
"Because it's a beautiful language! One of poets and great thinkers! I've wanted to understand it ever since I learned how to read. My family has a large library with collections from around the world. I also speak French, Polish and a little bit of Chinese.", he counts on his fingers.
"Well, would you look at that.", Gilbert says smugly and looks around at his friends: "It just so happens I am also a poet AND great thinker!"
Of course they laugh at this remark. Francis smiles and asks at Ivan: "You speak french?"
An opportunistic grin creeps into Ivan's face as he nods and says: "Oui, qui n'en a pas?" (Yes, doesn't everyone?), and since Francis cannot deny him a grin, he tilts his head and further inquires, "Bien?" (Good?)
Francis looks at him knowingly as he slowly straightens his back, presumably taking his time to invent a fitting come back. Something about Ivan trying to impress him triggers Francis not to give him that satisfaction. But a part of him wants to try being open minded and is regrettably impressed.
"If not for that awful accent, that almost sounded like french." , he says quietly and adds, even quieter, "That's a compliment."
Antonio's head went side to side following the exchange: "What? No fair. What did he say?"
"I guess you'll have to find that out yourself, Antonito. Maybe I should teach you some time?", he bumps into him and suggestively roars like a kitten. They laugh together.
"Are you from France?", Ivan interrupts their playing. The blonde jokester let's his victim be and shrugs expressively.
"Yes and No. I was born there and lived there all my childhood. Until I was six or sevenish. We still speak french at home."
"How did you end up in Germany?"
Francis grins at the foreign intruder and bluntly says: "Because my parents are worthless, dumb and idiots."
Ivan doesn't seem too moved by this. He nods softly and comments: "I see… you had no choice."
Francis scans him from across the table. He quickly resumes his facade of a sly dog and throws one arm around Antonio next to him.
"But I have the choice to stay here over the holidays and spend time with my real family."
Gilbert makes a puking sound and suddenly all three of them burst into laughter. Ivan chuckles uncomfortably.
"So, are you going home over the holidays too, Ivan? Do you celebrate Christmas?"
Amused at the assumption they wouldn't celebrate Christmas in his home country, Ivan explains: "We do, but I'm not going home. It's a long journey and I don't mind being here. Christmas doesn't mean so much to me. I'm going to prepare for the next quarter instead."
The boys all look shocked at this revelation. "Huh? You mean you will study?", Gilbert asks, to which Ivan nods proudly, "Да! I want to make a good impression. And I like studying."
"No!", Francis howls dramatically, "That is just an awful waste of time that you could spend having fun and loving life instead!"
After Ivan doesn't have more to add to this but an uncomfortable, pressed smile, Francis stares at him in shock, "Are you really serious?!", and Ivan nods, seeming embarrassed.
"But aren't your parents going to miss you?", Antonio worries.
"They would likely be proud and happy with my decision. In my school it is also kind of expected."
"What, you guys don't have holidays either?", Francis tops his earlier dramatization. This line of questioning seems to have scratched Ivan the wrong way and he looks at Francis and snaps back: "Yes we do! It is not a set rule, but no good student at our school is just talented. We work hard to be that good. But as I just said, it is my decision anyways."
Francis gives him a standoffish look and neither of them seems to want to back down.
Antonio distracts them with another question: "Isn't it kind of scary to be alone in a different country? I know I was scared."
Eyes are on Ivan, who looks up at each of them before he carefully says, "I don't know yet."
"That makes sense to me.", says Gilbert to wrap up the conversation before anyone else could get upset, "You can come to me with your worries if you ever get any, alright?"
Ivan appreciates this with a half-nod and finally starts eating his little meal. He sees Antonio get up and get seconds, building a small tower of treats for himself. Before Ivan can think about it, he blurts out: "Is it really okay to eat that much food?", earning him some surprised and concerned looks from the trio right as Toni joins the table again.
"Yes! You have to eat as much as you want, amígo! ", he reacts with normalcy and gifts him the brightest grin before digging into his impressive load.
Luckily Ivan doesn't see the way Francis and Gilbert follow him with their eyes as he gets up to prepare another plate. He'd not even finished his bread and meat. They watch him as he bundles another sandwich and some cake into a napkin and slips them in the satchel he hadn't even taken off to sit with them.
"I will be on my way. It was nice meeting you all!"
Ivan says this with such sincerity that they could believe him. But almost everybody feels a little bit uneasy from this interaction. Gilbert and Antonio wave him goodbye, whilst Antonio shouts with his mouth half full, "See you tomorrow!"
Not much needs to be said as the three of them can agree that Ivan left a questionable impression. They finish their meal and move on to evening shenanigans worthy of a Saturday.
The trio moves into one of the smaller common rooms, around a faux fire mainly used for appearance during the warmer months. Francis had a surprise for his best friends that he brought during his last stay at his grandparents house, a candy mainly produced in Saint- Étienne but distributed widely throughout most of Europe. Toni just received one Francis specifically chose for him and momentarily gains the ability to shoot his tongue like a frog, calling back to that insult he had to endure by Professor Kirkland. They laugh so much, it throws them backwards and they're rolling on the floor.
"I love those, they are my favorite!", Antonio says still giggling. Francis nods happily: "That's why I brought them!"
Gilbert also pops one in his mouth and whiskers shoot out of the bridge of his nose.
"Eat this one too!"
Gilbert grins with a mouth full of real feline teeth as he crunches down on the next one Antonio fishes out of the bag for him. His head tingles and starts itching for a moment before furry white triangular ears appear on his head. His friends laugh.
"Oh you could have some freaky sex with these candies.", Francis comments and Gilbert slaps his hand away from his temporary ears.
"I wonder if we shouldn't keep one for Ivan? Maybe he doesn't have these in Russia."
Nobody likes that Ivan got brought up, it seems not even Toni who looks sort of sullen upon bringing it up. He had been mostly concerned about Ivan's stance towards eating food. But Francis' face implies that his concern lies somewhere else. He sits up straight and seems to think twice about what he wants to say next.
"You guys, Im going to be bad and make a judgement. I bet he is 100% here to cause trouble."
"What trouble? Don't say that Francis.", Antonio sounds disappointed. He knows well this is not meant towards him or foreigners in general, but he still feels hurt.
"No, it's true. And I'll tell you why I think so. First, he didn't want to sit with us to begin with. You could say he was nervous but I honestly think he just doesn't care. And the way he talks. Doesn't it all sound scripted to you?", he looks around at still faces, "Maybe it's me. I get that his school is kind of trying to fix their Image, if that's even true, but that doesn't really work if their spokesperson runs around calling humans without magic "mud bloods" and meaning it. He's just pretending to be nice! You know what I'm talking about, right?"
Gilbert gets put on the spot and wrinkles his forehead , pouting and groaning to express his unwillingness to speculate further.
"Yes, I think I know what you're saying. But we can't judge him for that stuff just yet. He hasn't even been here a day, Francis. Plus, like, what if he has something going on up there? I'm just saying maybe he's gone through some shit. Or maybe he is just nervous.", Antonio nods along as if Gilbert was serenading them, "I doubt very strongly that evil Novgorod would send their most awkward soldier to mess with us. And as for me, I honestly don't know what to think of him. We're definitely not going to be friends if he keeps up this charade. But I also don't want to ruin the new kid."
The ball is in Francis court again. He crosses his arms and shrugs upon Gilberts rightful criticism. "I'm not saying we have to do something about him. But maybe someone should keep an eye on him? I don't know if that's not what you're actually supposed to do. All I know is I'm not going to hang out with him. I don't trust him.", he catches Antonio's sad doe eyes and normally they would easily sway his opinion or change his mind entirely, but not this time. He averts his face from him.
"Listen, I think it's really great you guys want to be friends with the weirdo. I won't get in the way with that."
"You know, you're really hung up on the fact that he's from that school. Don't you think you're being kind of unfair?", Gilbert sounds almost gruff, reminding them very much of his more earnest brother. "Imagine someone just assumed the worst of you because of where you're from. He's weird but he will probably find his crowd and adapt."
"I don't have to imagine that, because I experienced it too. Remember? First of all that and secondly, you're probably right that I'm being unfair."
Gilbert ist very surprised to hear Francis admit defeat. He sees his face sour, as it often does, ruining the maintenance of his personally designed and highly effective potions for skin and hair care.
"I may have some prejudices because of Karla's ex- boyfriend. Hes the Russian gangster boyfriend I mentioned earlier at lunch. That guy was with us for almost five years. He was just a nasty, shit covered slug who'd get angry at random things and drink everywhere. He even threatened to kill my dog and we practically fought all the time. At some point they tried to get me enrolled in Novgorod, to kind of get rid of me and have more time being horrible people. He thought that school would make me obedient and quiet."
A shocked silence lays in the air as he pauses.
"Anyways, the school luckily didn't take me at the time, because I wasn't born russian. If that tells you anything about that place. And that was still in 2019. Goulash face described it almost like a military school. Where the students basically have to perform perfectly. They have a great record for winning tournaments and having the highest national average. It's like the Harvard of the Wizarding World, only that it's a boot camp in the middle of the Tundra. They have ugly uniforms and a dress code that includes that you can only wear certain hair styles."
He highlights this part in particular, snorting in disgust.
"He also told me that students would actually be physically punished and sometimes hexed or even cursed with disease and then still forced to attend. And that they used to be much worse. It sounded brutal. And I'll be honest, since it's been a couple of years and I was just a kid. I was really scared."
After spilling so much of his personal life before his friends, Francis looks oddly deflated for someone so prideful. Antonio almost immediately scooches over and puts an arm around him, leaning into him quietly. Gilbert also comes over to share a hug with him, now that his whiskers have dissipated from his face. He sighs as they let go. It wasn't often Francis shared his home life with people out of fear of being pitied. Even now he wasn't just comfortable with their affectionate response. But this confession showed once again his love and trust in his brothers in life.
"I feel kind of bad for him now, to be honest. But didn't he say that things changed with the new director? Maybe it's not that bad anymore.", Gilbert diverts the attention away from Francis out of respect.
"I doubt that things changed much. He probably is like that because he just doesn't know it any better. I still won't be friends with him.", Francis answers pessimistically and that's the unofficial conclusion to him. Gilbert smiles and bumps into his shoulder to lighten him up. "Hey, we get it. You really don't have to."
Francis smiles at his best friend, happy to know someone in this world gives him the space to be who he needs to be.
"But I saw your face when he spoke French with you.", he goes on with an impish grin, "You liked that. Sounded pretty confident to me."
Francis throws a handful of snacks at Gilbert, who tries and fails to avoid them with a mean snicker.
Eventually it becomes night outside as they jest and Gilbert gets up first, proclaiming that he doesn't want to get chased to his room by tonight's hall monitor. He already yawns on the way back to his small room, when a familiar large figure catches his eye inside one of the hallways.
Ivan is holding a book in his hands, barely concealing the map of the school laid out on the open page. He keeps looking down at it, then at the wall in front of him. His fingers are tracing the stones of the building with a weird understanding.
Gilbert wonders whether he should say something or not. Then he decides to just walk over.
"Hey! It's getting kind of late, I thought I better let you know. We're not allowed in the hallways past 10 pm."
Ivan closes his book as Gilbert approaches and turns towards him.
"I knew that. But you're just doing your job. By the way, it's fine with me if you don't."
"What job?", Gilbert asks him, concerned over the accusation. Not that he didn't think of this as a job, but he also didn't want Ivan to feel like a burden.
He,however, just smiles and closes his book softly, "Watching over me? I know you're not doing this because you want to. Antonio might have tried to be nice, but your other friend wasn't very subtle."
He is glad to see Gilbert look a little bit guilty over his friends behavior. Feeling validated, he goes on: "I don't need anyone's pity, it's not worth anything. I actually get around pretty well by myself. If you want I can even tell the director about how great of a helper you've been to me."
Gilbert is dumbfounded over this rude suggestion. He wants to react with spite, but bites his tongue. Instead of lashing out, he tries to compose himself. When he answers, Ivan can still taste the bitterness of a hurt pride through his words.
"I don't pity you at all. I just wanted to make sure the new guy doesn't feel unwelcome here. But if you would rather be alone instead, fine! We can arrange that. You don't even have to -apparently- lie to the director."
The short standoff makes the night feel quieter as silence falls between them. Ivans lilac eyes linger on Gilberts ruby reds as they seem to stare each other down. Eventually Ivan breathes deep and shrugs, "I have no reason to believe you wanted to do it."
Gilbert stares with flaming anger. He shakes his head, "Whatever, man.", and makes his leave, feeling offended.
He hears Ivan yell "Good night!" after him but makes sure to ignore it, hoping it gets noticed. After stomping back to his room, he enters quietly before venting at the mirror in his room.
"What an asshole! Does that Russian think he can talk to me that way?!"
The mirror doesn't answer him, instead he gets to look at his snow white face with angry red eyes and frowns. He gently plucks at his white eyelashes, wondering out loud: "Wait a second, Gilbert. Could he be acting weird because of this? I forget that I look like this.", he stops to think about the rumors of outright racial- ideologically inspired hate towards certain cultures and minorities. The mostly russian wizarding society is said to have retained old habits of faith despite the message they were trying to send. He felt a sickening emptiness about the thought of Ivan having been sent by Novgorod for reasons of causing a disruption of peace. It occurred to Gilbert that his Latino and queer friends probably also made a certain unwelcome impression on Ivan. He deeply didn't want to think about him as a threat for the same dumb assumptions Ivan might have been making about them. Gilbert feels he should be better than that. It would suit him.
"As if he didn't look like a freak himself.", he concludes his spiraling as he puffs out air, letting the day pass him by one more time. What Ivan accused him of and how it was unfortunately true sits like a brick on his chest. But nonetheless, he thinks with his teeth grit, Ivan could've just played nice instead of calling him out on it. Francis proved to be right in assuming Ivan was merely acting friendly and not actually interested in being friends. At least that's what it looks like.
Later that night he gets up, after trying and failing to fall asleep, to visit the lavatories. He tries to hurry so as to not run into his younger brother, who is the hall monitor. Not that he had anything to fear from getting caught in the hallways late at night, but Ludwig had a bit of a bad habit of holding patronizing speeches.
After doing his thing, he leaves the lavatories just as he catches somebody's shadow lingering on the wall. He has a suspicion and follows them, only to round the corner and find Ivan. A small warm glow seems to be emanating from an unknown source in his hands, with which he is illuminating the book, then he is touching the wall again.
Gilbert squints his eyes. "You're still at it? What are you even doing?"
The small light source in his hand immediately evaporates as Ivan flinches and turns around to look at him. He puts on a smile. "Aha, speak of the devil. I was just thinking about you. You look really scary in candle light."
Gilbert's face lets Ivan know he did not appreciate that comment very much. Instead of even acknowledging it, he repeats: "So what are you doing there with the walls?"
Ivan lets his book sink slowly, pondering his response as he looks at him through the darkness for a moment, then turns to face him fully. He exaggerates his fake smile for just a moment as he bends towards him. "I am looking for weak points in the structure to plant bombs…", he almost hisses with glee, but then he can't help but let out a giggle at this preposterous story.
Gilbert meets this stone-faced and he hisses back: "That's not funny!"
"Who is laughing?", Ivan retorts.
"You need to go back to your room. Or I'm going to report you."
"Not if I report you first!"
"Hey!"
Another voice sounds from the end of the hallway, distracting them from their bickering. Gilbert groans quietly as the hall monitor nears them, walking briskly with a wand in his hands to illuminate his way.
"What are you two doing? Wait…"
As Ludwig recognizes Gilbert, his wide framed body seems to relax noticeably. Ivan concluded early that this must be the brother Gilbert had mentioned, but having him in front of him he is thrown for a loop. For a student of his age he had an absolutely muscular body. Ivan can't help wondering about it, not sure if in disbelief these abs weren't some magic trick.
Ludwig has a look at them both and waits for Gilbert to explain himself first silently.
Gilbert appreciates this trust. He half accusedly gestures towards Ivan and explains: "I had to pee and then I found him wandering around touching stuff. Apparently he's planting bombs!", Gilbert laughs and makes sure to also look at Ivan as he does so. Ivan laughs with him, albeit a bit uncomfortably.
"I didn't mean to cause any trouble.", he tries to explain himself to Ludwig, "I just thought it would be good to have a look around when the halls aren't so crowded. And I couldn't sleep. "
He maneuvers the book he is holding in front of him as he talks, illuminating for Ludwig the title "Trithemius - A collection of events"
"While that is a sensible thought, the curfew is in place for reasons. You can go to the bathroom and back to your room. You just barely arrived here. It would be better if you stayed out of trouble."
"Yes. Of course.", Ivan says, bowing his head a bit.
This seems to be enough for Ludwig and he sighs, wondering how Gilbert keeps getting into trouble even when isn't trying to.
"I am Ludwig, by the way. Welcome to Trithemius."
"I am Ivan. Thank you very much."
They shake hands for a second, then Ludwig says: "Please go ahead. I just want to talk to Gilbert for a moment."
Ivan obliges and bids them goodnight with a friendly nod each before walking off towards their rooms. He has Gilberts eyes on his back, squinted in angry suspicion. "Are things going good?",Ludwig interrupts his revengeful thoughts. He turns to look at his straight edged brother and points back:"What, with him? Yeah, I guess.", he crosses the arms behind the back of his head and watches Ludwig nod, but clearly not convinced, "Maybe not perfect, to be honest."
"What's the problem?"
Gilbert sighs and throws his arms out in exasperation, looking in the night sky for better answers to that question.
"Well, I want to be all nice and tolerant, but he is just kind of an ass sometimes. I know it may have something to do with his culture or maybe its a language barrier, but I'm finding it kind of hard to like him. And I think he doesn't really like me either."
Ludwig seems mildly unhappy with those news. He hmms and haahs and rubs his tired eyes, causing Gilbert to tense up. He knows what will come next if he doesn't gently navigate himself around a sermon by his perfectly cut brother. He braces himself as Ludwig starts out with another self-sacrifice: "If you think so, I could take care of Ivan instead of you." "Absolutely not! Who hasn't become my friend, eventually?! People love me!", Gilbert beckons him to agree, drawing a rare smile on Ludwigs face.
"But I'm being honest. If you need-"
"Me too! I'm being totally honest Ludwig! Don't you worry your pretty little head about it.", he wraps an arm around his taller younger brother, "I'm such a people person. I'm going to kill him with kindness, alright?"
"Maybe don't kill him.", Ludwig responds in his usually monotonous drawl again and unglues himself from his predecessor, "I just feel guilty you got stuck with that. It should've been my responsibility."
"You're taking this too seriously!", Gilbert winks at him, "As always, dude. That is just why Opa gave me the job instead of you."
Ludwigs forehead wrinkles like an old mans as he sighs and gives in. "Yes, right. It's probably better that way."
"Right? Okay, I don't want to keep you from your very important job of being a narc. Do you need anything else?", he says, happy to have gotten what he wanted.
"Some respect would be nice. Just because I'm your little brother doesn't mean you can talk down to a school authority."
He has to suppress his laughter at Ludwig and shakes his head. "Don't kid yourself. Good night, Bruderchen. I love you."
"Good night, Gilbert.", Ludwig mumbles as he looks after him and sighs. He really doesnt mind it too much in the end.
Gilbert finally walks into his room to go to bed for the last time this night. He thinks back to the interaction and realizes that Ivan could have reacted like that in defense. Because, Gilbert had to admit, he was kind of accusing him of planting figurative bombs.
He feels newly determined to double down and be there for Ivan if he's needed. If that keeps him off of Ludwig's back for now.