Glimpses of Light

IV

Nika's eyelids fluttered open, reluctantly greeting the morning light. The temptation to sink deeper into her blankets was almost unbearable, a sanctuary from the restless echoes of recent, troubled nights. Wrapped in the comforting warmth of the Hufflepuff dormitory, she tried to cling to a precious moment of peace.

The room around her bore little resemblance to the austere dormitory at Durmstrang that had been her home for over six years. Here, in this new sanctuary, magic seemed to paint the very air as a conjured golden sunlight washed over beds arrayed in cheerful yellows and soothing browns.

Her fleeting contentment was swiftly eclipsed by grim reminders of why she was at Hogwarts. Memories of Grindelwald, the war, her personal losses, the imposing decision of the Ministry of Magic, and the Dolohovos encroached upon her serenity. Then her mind lingered on Frederick—just the thought constricted her breath, ushering in a wave of panic.

He's not here. He's not here, she thought, struggling to breathe evenly.

***

Nika's relief was palpable as she discovered her first class of the day did not include the Slytherins. The thought of facing Antonin, especially after their unsettling exchange the evening before, was almost unbearable. Her chest tightened just remembering his cold, calculating tone and the lies he had woven so effortlessly. The more she thought about it, the more tangled her mind became.

*start flashback*

"What are you doing?" Nika demanded, staring at Dolohov in disbelief as he guided her away from Lucy, Milly, and Riddle.

"You need to maintain the cousins' facade," Antonin whispered, his tone both clinical and insistent.

She flinched. "Have you gone insane?"

Dolohov's upper lip twitched as his cold, disdainful gaze bored into hers. "Careful how you talk to me, Mudblood," he hissed under his breath. "This is for your own good," he insisted, his eyes darting a quick glance toward Riddle. "See him?" He nodded subtly in Riddle's direction while keeping his eyes locked on her. "I overheard his friends earlier. They're just like Freddy. They despise your kind."

The mention of Frederick hit her like a slap. It was a sharp reminder of how broken she'd become because of him—the very person who haunted her nightmares. Dolohov must have known the pain invoking his name would cause; after all, Freddy had been his friend at Durmstrang.

"Since when do you care about my well-being?" she asked, trying to sound confrontational, but steadying her voice was becoming too hard. Anxiety prickled as Frederick's manic laugh echoed in her mind.

Breathe. Breathe. Breathe.

"I don't care about you; you're right. But we can both benefit from this. If they find out we're living together, my family's reputation will be jeopardised here in the UK as well. We moved here because my family betrayed Grindelwald and cut a deal to stay out of prison and avoid total ruin. They might suspect something back home, but here, no one knows what we did or that we took you in—except the Ministry, obviously.

"You just need to say your mother is my father's second cousin, Galina Dolohov—a woman who supposedly lost her mind after her son's death and now lives in seclusion in Mongolia. Officially, she's a widow, but we'll claim her new husband is a Muggle-born named Matvey Miron—that would be your father," he explained unflinchingly as if he'd had ample time to think through every detail.

"So you want me to lie more for your benefit, not mine," she said, her voice faint but striving for firmness.

"As I said, it benefits us both. Pretending to be a half-blood, even partly a Dolohov, will make your life easier here. And I can't afford to be linked to a Mudblood. We both win. Think about it, Nika. Do you want to endure another year like before? Do you?"