The Healer | Part 1: The Hogwarts Years

Andrej

Edith

The First Task was approaching rapidly, it was all anyone in the castle could talk about. No one knew what it was going to be and people were making some pretty wild speculations. The wildest of which had to be that each Champion would have to fly to the moon and collect a moon rock for proof.

The Sunday before the First Task, I headed out to the lake for my weekly walk, bundled up warmly and carrying a small stack of toast. Pretty soon, the lake would be frozen and the banks would be snowy, which would make walking a little more challenging. I would have to remember to bring my ice skates back with me when I went home for Christmas. It had been ages since I had been ice skating.

As I neared the lake, I became quickly apparent that there was already someone else there. I slowed my pace down. It was one of the Durmstrang lot, I could tell by the thick, fur cloak and hat he was wearing. He was tall and broad, was it the same boy who had been watching me from the ship a few weeks before? There was no way to tell, he had been so far away then, I hadn't got a good look at him. His back was to me now and he was skipping rocks across the water. He was quite good at it too, the rocks would skip five or six times before sinking below the surface.

Maybe if I gave him a wide enough berth, he wouldn't see me and I could continue on my way.

No sooner had the thought formed in my head then the boy turned around and noticed me.

I almost stopped in my tracks, but forced myself to slowly keep walking. He wasn't quite as dark as Viktor Krum, but he was definitely more handsome. He had sharp features, a long broad nose and thick lips. His eyes were dark, but warm, and he had thick eyebrows and the shadow of beard growth on his cheeks and chin. I knew he could have only been seventeen, maybe eighteen at the oldest, but he appeared much older than that.

'Hello,' his voice was much deeper than I would have expected for a teenager. I stopped walking, he was talking to me. He nodded at me. 'You come for valk?'

'Erm... yes,' I answered slowly, hesitating when I realized he probably wouldn't know what 'aye' meant. I was well aware that my thick highland accent wasn't easy for even native English speakers to understand. I would have to try to pronounce all my words and control my accent.

'You come every veek,' he continued. 'I vatch you sometimes from ship.'

He nodded towards the boat. I wasn't sure what to make of this. Should I be nervous? Should I even be engaging with this boy?

Professor Dumbledore had said that the whole point behind the Triwizard Tournament was international magical cooperation. The boy seemed friendly enough. I did a quick scan of the grounds, I could already see people flying over the Quidditch pitch on broomsticks. If anything were to happen, I was sure someone would be able to help.

'Yeah, I do,' I smiled and held up the stack of toast. 'I bring bread for the giant squid, too.'

'I did not think you vere going to eat all that by yourself,' the boy laughed. 'I am Andrej.'

'I'm Edith,' I replied.

'Eed-it.' Andrej repeated.

'Loads of people call me Edie if that's easier,' I suggested.

'Yes, Edie is much easier,' Andrej nodded. 'Can I valk vith you today?'

'Erm... alright,' I nodded. He stood to the side and gestured for me to lead the way. I started walking, he fell into step beside me.

'I did not know there vas squid until I see you feeding it,' Andrej said.

'Do you mind it?' I asked, 'I mean, because you lot stay on the ship?'