INTERLUDE V

Micah first learned the value of patience from his father.

The Konstantin family had little renown among the Wizarding families of Russia. Still, their reticent natures led to a steady gathering of land, wealth, and influence over the last three centuries. The ideals that had made the first among their family successful were passed down throughout the generations, from father to son and mother to daughter.

Almost from the cradle, warnings of idealism and the dangers of blind loyalty were reiterated to them. Micah had been no different. By the time he was old enough to attend magical day school, his new classmates were nothing more than targets or threats in his eyes.

However, while all this was done to lie and cheat their way into further wealth and power, the quiet honour of hard work was not unknown to them. Micah's father had made it a habit to reiterate the value of patience and how all the best work was done methodically.

"As long as you put in the work, and as long as you do the work properly, it will all come together in the end." His father had first said this while teaching him simple arithmetic but had repeated it whenever he taught Micah something new, from flying and duelling to charming the powerful.

It all made sense to Micah. After all, if you practised something a thousand times, why wouldn't you be able to do it correctly when it counted? He'd believed that this was the only correct way of doing things, as it had brought him success in everything from academics to professional duelling.

At least until he met the Molotov twins.

His successes had always been overshadowed by his more boisterous classmates, but he hadn't minded as it allowed him to blend in better than he would have. At any other time in the history of Koldovstoretz, Micah might have shone brightly, but when compared to the prodigal talents of the Molotovs and their family's high prestige, he became nothing more than an afterthought. But he was fine with this. Existing in the shadow of such talents suited him well.

That all changed when his father's life and the lives of his family were ruined by the Azkaban breakout.

Micah had wanted to rage then but he instead minded his father's lessons and chose to bide his time.

As a Fifth Year, he put his name forward for the Triwizard Tournament that was still two years away. He wanted to claim the only remaining spot as he and everyone else knew the first two positions belonged to the twins. Like most premier schools, Koldovstoretz organised their Triumvirate early to train them properly before the Ministry of Magic sent their examiners.

During his first session, Micah got to see the twins in action. Even with all the hatred he felt for their family, he couldn't help but be impressed with their training. They were able to pull out off-the-wall maneuverers at the drop of a hat, techniques that would have taken him weeks to get down only to come off half as good as theirs did.

But while he was impressed with them, they certainly weren't impressed with him.

Andrei was the younger twin, and though no one would say it within his earshot, he was a shade less talented than his brother. But while Stepan had the skill to surpass his brother, it was clear to everyone that he didn't enjoy the relentless training and the joy of fighting as much as Andrei did, which was what gave the younger twin his edge.

Andrei risked his neck on a daily basis, either not considering the consequences or just believing that his brother would always be there to prevent them. He simply wanted to win more than Stepan did. Maybe more than anyone did. Certainly more than anyone Micah had ever met.

He had found it difficult to gain the twins' respect at first. Despite having spent four years sharing classes with them, Micah's withdrawn nature had kept him from making any impact on them. But even he was shocked by how little notice they had taken of him.

Upon being introduced to them, Andrei bluntly asked, "Are you new?"

It took a while to convince them that he'd been a part of their year since day one, and even longer for him to understand that they didn't respect his flawless grades nor the good words their teachers had to say about him. Finally, when observing them reacting to a professional duel that their coach had taken them to, he understood the one thing in which they found value: power.

Hardly a week after he'd realised this, a Death Eater attack occurred in the neighbouring underwater town of Kitezh. In a series of unlikely coincidences, Micah just so happened to be in town that day. The standoffish twins were within sight when he captured three Death Eaters single-handed in a fearsome display of strength.

As the favoured children of the highest-ranking Auror in the country, they had as much reason as anyone to hate Death Eaters. His brutal takedown of three of their number was enough for them to accept him into the fold.

They never questioned the timing of it all. It certainly never occurred to them that he could have orchestrated the whole affair.