Soon enough, the 'teaching exchange' slowly started to happen, albeit, from what Harry and Ron noticed, it seemed that Pann was the only one participating on behalf of Durmstrang. However, they did hear through the grapevine that in classes where only Slytherin students participated, other professors made appearances. Whether their own professors participated in such exchanges, none of the students seemed to know - either they were unilateral at that point, or their professors, Hagrid included, were being extremely tight-lipped about it.
However, at some point, Hermione ran to the room out of breath as they approached the Great Hall for lunch.
"He was in!" From seemingly nowhere, Hermione caught up with them. "Remember that professor that dragged Crabbe and Goyle, Professor Hayk? I saw him, he was in our Ancient Runes class!"
"How do you know that? You've just been to Divination earlier and you didn't say anything then-"
Hermione chose to ignore Ron, and continued.
"He was in the class with Professor Babbling. Didn't say a word, but looked very interested in a copy of 'Magical Hieroglyphs and Logograms '. I managed to see those tattoos on his face better too, I noted down down - one looks like Ansuz, but it was kind of hidden by his beard, so I don't know if I maybe wrote it wrong. I need to look better at my copy of-"
"Didn't say anything during the entire class?" Harry interrupted.
"Well… Not to us. He kept talking with Professor Babbling, but I couldn't understand what he was saying. He kind of ignored us, and left before the end of the session. He didn't seem too impressed."
"I mean, does Snape ever seem impressed?" added Ron. "Told you, two peas in a pod. Wouldn't be surprised if he's the Head of the Slytherin equivalent at Durmstrang."
"Didn't you hear Professor Pann? There are no houses at Durmstrang." Hermione rolled her eyes. "Don't tell me you're not paying attention even now to your classes, even with her there."
Hermione was right. Whenever Pann came in, she would answer questions about Durmstrang without hesitation, and even in his History of Magic classes, Harry managed to actually not fall asleep. Whereas Hogwarts had four founders, Durmstrang only had one. And for dozens of years, barely enough students to even fit one floor. He remembered that - he noted down all details relating to Durmstrang, for whenever they would come in handy.
They had thought they could rely on Percy - or at least manage to get any kind of information through him, but he would not say a single thing from his meetings with McGonagall to prepare him for the 'Model ICW'. Even Fred and George were stumped - he couldn't stop talking about becoming a Prefect, then a Head Boy, then about Penelope… but on this matter, despite being the only Hogwarts student who would soon obtain access to Durmstrang, he would not tell anyone a single thing.
Percy, however, had his reasons not to. His professors adored Bill and Charlie - Bill, the eldest, the Cursebreaker working in Egypt, Charlie the Quidditch champion, and even though they were exasperated by Fred and George, he knew other professors had a soft spot for them. Compared to his brother, all Percy thought he had were his booksmarts, and his adherence to rules. And this was his opportunity to make a name for himself based on those characteristics alone, both in the eyes of Hogwarts and Durmstrang students.
Ready for his first Model ICW lesson, he walked purposefully towards McGonagall's office, only to see a flutter of robes in front of him - he recognised Professor Pann by her tall, lanky figure, and Professor Karkaroff, with his white robes and sprightly step, talking interestedly and happily with a third figure. A third figure in dark billowing robes and long, slicked back silver hair, which Percy recognised easily as Lucius Malfoy. They three passed by McGonagall's office, from where Professor Dumbledore appeared, as if he were expecting them.
"Ah, Lucius, here you are. I see you have arrived early, and with our hosts as well." Professor Dumbledore's voice welcomed them all, however Percy noticed that under his polite tone, there was the smallest tinge of displeasure.
"What can I say, Lucius, well, mister Malfoy here, was very insistent I give him a tour of our Durmstrang courts first." Karkaroff laughed.
"Ah, Mister Weasley." Professor McGonagall stepped from her office, and looked around at the three figures in front of her, before waving her hand to beckon everyone to move aside for Percy. "You are early as well, a bit too early, in fact. If you wouldn't mind waiting in my office, I am sure Professor Pann will accompany you after she is finished."
Percy nodded nervously, and watched the four professors and Lucius Malfoy leave, perhaps to enter professor Dumbledore's office. Perhaps he would not tell anyone about Durmstrang, but he may let it drop to the rest that he saw Lucius Malfoy in Hogwarts, especially after last year, especially after what happened to Ginny. A whole year, and no one had said anything, none of them cared as much as to check on her, make sure she was safe.
McGonagall turned briefly to look at Percy right as they were turning a corner, and nodded her head curtly as to encourage him - well, she sure hoped it would encourage him, the poor kid seemed to take his role as the Hogwarts delegate and his status as a representative of Hogwarts extremely seriously. Of course, this was to be expected, as only a few other seventh years had not only aspirations as high as Percy Weasley, but the brains to back them up.
But before that… she felt a duty to accompany Dumbledore, especially since Lucius Malfoy seemed to have brought Karkaroff into this as well.
Inside the Headmaster's office, with a light tapping of his wand, Dumbledore made extra chairs appear from the wooden floor. He took a seat, and Rada followed his example, taking the seat closest to Dumbledore's desk. Lucius Malfoy, on other hand, decided to remain standing, and Karkaroff seemed to decide against sitting down as well, instead stepping closer to Rada and pressing a finger against her shoulder, as if to remind her he was right behind her. McGonagall closed the door behind them all, and watched the scene from a distance.
"I hope you have had safe travels on your way here, Lucius."
"I have indeed - the fresh, mountain air surely reinvigorates one. Very different to our good old England, isn't it, Dumbledore?"
"It is indeed a nice change of scenery."
"Now, the wonderful Durmstrang Headmaster was just telling me what would have happened at Durmstrang, if, and this is an enormous if, a student would have been viciously attacked by one of their animals." Lucius's voice was now stern, and he stepped closer to Dumbledore's desk. "Which got me thinking about the consequences you have here, at Hogwarts - so then, what of the beast that harmed my son?"
"You know, Dumbledore, if this were to happen at Durmstrang, the beast would have immediately been put down. Quickly and swiftly. No pain, of course." Karkaroff added.
"I understand this, my dear Karkaroff, however we are comparing apples and pears here. And while I do appreciate your hosting and your input, since the incident happened in a Hogwarts class, and involved a Hogwarts student, on Hogwarts grounds, I believe this matter should be settled according to our school regulations."
"I beg to differ, Dumbledore, as I will be going to the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures, to ask for their opinion and decision on the matter. And I am quite sure that the Committee, much like Durmstrang, would happen to agree with me, that a hippogriff-"
"I would not put all my ducks in a row and say Durmstrang would agree by default." Rada grumbled.
"What was that, my dear?" There was a tinge of a smile as Albus repeated his question, his eyes meeting McGonagall's for a moment before looking at Lucius as he continued speaking.
"I said- no, Igor, no. Enough of this."
McGonagall was unsure what Karkaroff was doing, but she watched Rada move in her chair, shaking her shoulders, before continuing.
"That poor man's report matches what other students have been saying, and I saw the kid's injuries myself. His throat got more hurt from all his yelling than his arm. Pride of his father, he must be." Rada turned in her chair, and gave Lucius Malfoy a stern look, which he returned spitefully. "We haven't done anything at Durmstrang for worse than this, and you know it, Igor. Creature, human, animal, or what have you. We have no high ground to be lecturing others about what we do. I know what we do. I know what we do, and what we've been doing, and what we did back when you were- well, I shan't say."
For a few uncomfortable seconds, no one spoke, and Igor and Lucius threw each other looks which concerned McGonagall. She decided to break the silence, and cleared her throat, also speaking up in defence of the hippogriff and Hagrid.
"I am afraid that as a school, we cannot approve of the useless killing of a magical creature that specifically needed to be handled with care without appropriate reason. Just as we could not approve your son's transfer a few months ago."
"Nevertheless-" Lucius Malfoy spoke up, furrowing his brows, "the final word does rest with the Committee, regardless of the current Headmaster's- or any Deputy Headmaster opinions on the matter. And let me say, Dumbledore, that you are putting yourself in a very precarious position by letting beasts wantonly attack your students, again. There is a precedent, after all, there is a reason you are here, on Durmstrang grounds, and we are not fully on English soil."
"Lucius, I am afraid that I will have to repeat what I have told our students numerous times already. Regardless of whose country's or institution's soil we are finding ourselves on, we are still inside Hogwarts and on its grounds. Now, if you wish to bring the British Ministry into this, you are more than welcome."
Lucius's upper lip stiffened, and he tapped his cane lightly, throwing Igor one last look and muttering that they will talk later.
"I believe I have done the correct thing in warning you and offering you first option of disposal, Dumbledore - not only that, but I have shown a lot of benevolence, considering the situation at hand. Yet you seem to make the same mistakes…" With that, he left unceremoniously, not even bothering to salute any of the people in the room.
Rada knew she would hear from Igor later that evening, for breaking their agreement, for bringing his past up, for agreeing with Dumbledore, for defending Rubeus Hagrid and his hippogriff… but being back inside Hogwarts brought a certain self-assuredness back. Unlike Durmstrang, inside these walls there were allies.
"Rada, the Hogwarts student for your class, Mister Weasley, is waiting for you in my office." Professor McGonagall woke her up from her reverie, and Rada got up quickly, avoiding Igor Karkaroff's eyes as she exited the office.
"Percy Weasley, is it?"
"Professor."
Percy raised himself from Professor McGonagall's desk, and stood up straight as Professor Pann walked in the office. She asked him to follow her, questioning him on whether Professor McGonagall had explained about how the two schools are connected and the importance of maintaining this a secret - however, before Percy could agree, she mentioned how she knew he had already been trusted with a Time Turner from his third year, and that that was good enough for her.
The pair walked across corridors that Percy could barely recall in his past six years of studies, and he started noticing that the usual Hogwarts portraits started to be absent from these walls, until they reached a stone wall. Percy watched Professor Pann lift her wand, and appeared to be counting the stones, much like people would do when accessing Diagon Alley for the first few times, until they would get used to the positioning of the specific stone.
"The position changes every day. Professor Dumbledore is in charge of it, and he sends everyone that needs to know the specific location a code every morning. Once you get it-" she tapped against it, and whispered something that Percy couldn't catch. "It's almost like Platform 9 ¾, but unlike it, you have to know what's on the other side, imagine what it looks like. That's what those two stupid boys didn't know… I've heard they hit the wall so hard their parents will probably wonder if we gave them pug noses." She snickered, and Percy laughed out of politeness, before noticing the professor was holding her elbow towards him. "Come on now, you need to hang onto me, like in side-along Apparition. Close your eyes and empty your mind."
He grabbed her elbow and followed her lead, closing his eyes as he felt pulled towards a brief, cold shower.
Before him, Durmstrang opened in its utmost intimacy.
Lit scarcely by candlelight, the wooden walls lined with books and artefacts made Durmstrang appear like an antiquarian's enlarged attic. Percy had always been interested in these kinds of shops, and visited many of them in his spare summers, even though he could not afford to buy a single thing. The 'cold and gloomy' Durmstrang he had prepared so much for was, in his opinion, quite homely. Careful not to lose his guide, he walked quickly through the large corridors. Looking left and right in order to take in everything. He discovered that large windows lined the walls, covered by heavy drapes, and as they passed them, Professor Pann would lazily move one hand, opening the drapes one by one while grumbling to herself.
"Professor?"
"Hm?"
"What do you… what do you teach?" He watched Professor Pann turn amused towards him, and quickly explained he never got the occasion to ask Professor McGonagall.
"Ethics, mister Weasley. I used to teach History of Magic, but unfortunately that post got allocated to another professor a few years ago. Here at Durmstrang, Years Ten and Eleven cover ethics. Years Eleven run mock crisis committees and International Magical Justice mock courts, but Years Ten, which you will join, run regular Wizarding Confederation committee meetings."
"Years Ten and Eleven?"
"They start school earlier in continental Europe. Hogwarts is a bit of an outlier, you will soon find, in how we start school at eleven. "
Percy found the way she spoke odd - 'we'? He noticed her pick up the pace, and figured he would leave that for another time as he followed the professor through what seemed like an interminable gallery of bookshelves, glass-protected items, and corridors, before they finally seemed to reach their destination - a well-lit classroom covered in marble, with desks and chairs arranged in a U-shape. A group of rowdy students ceased talking as Pann walked in, momentarily lifting themselves off their chairs as a sign of acknowledgement, before sitting back down. They wore dark red robes, with the boys having thick, leather belts wrapped around their waists, wands sticking out their side. The girls had smaller belts of thickly woven red and black thread, and seemed to wear sleeveless tunics around the front and back of their robes.
"Well, if it isn't Hogwarts!" a tall, curly-haired student grinned, before jumping up and approaching Percy, excitedly shaking his hand. More and more students followed him, shaking Percy's hand and asking him an interminable number of questions about himself, introducing themselves in a frenzy with wide grins and patting his shoulders excitedly.
That night, after he enjoyed dinner with the other 'delegates', as the Durmstrang students poked fun at each other in a bid to catch his attention, after he bid his goodbyes, after he left Durmstrang as he trudged alone along the corridors of Hogwarts, as he changed in his pajamas and went to bed, Percy came to the realization that he had never felt so alone. He had lauded himself at having the resolve to not talk to anyone about his experiences that morning, but as he closed his eyes and replayed the events at Durmstrang in his head, he wished he could. He wished he had someone to confide in, someone to talk to.
Rada Pann, on the other hand, wished she could have been alone. She felt no desire to talk and wanted to forget the experiences of that day, but unfortunately, she had to answer to Igor Karkaroff regarding what he deemed as 'insubordination', and once again sweet talk her way out of his accusations and assure him she was on his side, that they were a team, that they had always been a team, that such things happen, that perhaps she had been emotional - anything that would make him erase the shadows of doubt regarding her intentions.