The Wand Makers Apprentice

Chapter 35

I sat on the bottom step of the grand staircase, looking out of the doors to Hogwarts grounds. My trunk was to one side of me, and my travel bag ontop. Today was the end of christmas term, and I was going to Gordric's Rest for the Christmas break.

I couldn't stop feeling guilty about my father in Diagon Alley. He was all alone with my Aunty Lou for the Christmas holiday, and I guessed that that piece of dung Rufus would be there. It was nice to be with my real family for once. Grig, Dad and I. Grig had written to Georji inviting him to join us, but he hadn't replied, so we guessed he wasn't coming. Dad also said that some of our family from Russia would be coming for new years eve, which I was increasingly nervous about.

People were starting to gather in the great hall and around by nice o'clock, but mostly first years who I didn't know. I looked over to my side, and saw Cedric sitting down beside me, with a small box, wrapped and with a cute little bow on top. He beckoned it over to me, and I began to ruffle through my bag, digging around for gift for him.

We both sat of the stairs, slinging away wrapping paper. I'd bought Cedric a necklace, with a small four leaf clover in a glass ball. The clover was picked by Irish Leprachuans, and was rare; I'd got Grig to get me it while he was working over there.

Cedric on the other hand, had bought me a small Lion teddy. It was one of the cutest things I'd ver had, and I wrapped my arms around him and gave him an enormous hug.

"You getting on the express?" he asked, as I hugged my new Lion.

"Yeah, I will be." I replied, Everyone else I knew was staying at Hogwarts; the twins, Lene, Harry, Ron, Hermoinie, but I was going home to my father, and I was so nervous.

"Come sit in the Hufflepuff compartment, Roz." he said, shifting his feet. "There's not many of us going home you see..."

"Course I will." I smiled, as I stood up, grabbed my trunk and bag, and headed off for Hogsmead station.

*******

Gordric's Rest look tired and old when I arrived down the chimney. The first thing I saw, was my father mumbling away to himself in his favourite chair. I could hear singing coming from the kitchen, which was parculiar as seen as the house elf had died earlier that year. I walked over to him and smiled. He wrapped his arms around me, but carried on mumbling. I don't know what those death eaters did to him, but it sure sent him crazy.

"Georji!" said the loud voicee from the kitchen.

"Aunt Val." my father whispered, his top lip quivering and his eyes were darting around the room.

My Aunty Valentina was one of my father's five sisters from Russia. Out of the five, only her and my Aunty Rozalina were still alive. My Uncle Gennady, my father older brother,  has been the Minister for Magic in Russia for twelve years, and lived in Moscow with his wife and three children. Then there was Uncl Dimitri, who was a year older than my father, and lived in Coventry with his boyfriend. Due to the dislike of Homosexuals in Russia, he moved to Coventry around 1963, but even so, we did not see that much of him. Then there was aunty Nadezhda, who was my fathers twin sister. Sometimes he mentioned her, and he spoke to her as if she was still alive. I knew he loved her more than anyone in the world, and that they were like best friends as well as siblings, but she died in 1962, when she was only 10 years old. Aunty Yana also died young, she was only 3 years old, and was killed in a vampire seige, which also took Aunty Nadezhda. Aunty Roz lived in Russia, and spoke very little English, yet she was very beautiful, and worked as a model for the Russian branch of Gringotts. Aunty Val, or Aunty Valentina, was a crazy women who liked to look after my father, even though she was much younger than him.

She came burst into the room, carring a large cake and wearing a even larger smile.

"Privet, Rozietta!" she said in her strong accent.

  After about a week of living at Gordric's rest, several more members of the Gryffindor family turned up. Uncle Gennady and Dimitri, Aunty Roz, and there children, Grig, and my grandad Ivan, and my grandmore Anastasiya. By the time we were all squeezed in, it was full to the top! Even though Gordric's Rest was a pretty large house, I had to share my room with my cousin Nina and her sister Nessa, (who were my Uncle Gennady's chidren.)

"It iz a beautful house you have here." Nessa said to me. She was so beautiful, and had all the Gryffindor traits. Long brown hair, pale skin, dry lips, colour changing eyes, and a slender body. Nessa and NIna were twins, so looked alike.

"Yes." I smiled, not really sure what to say. This was th first time they'd met my father or any of his family. They all went to Russia's equivalent of Hogwarts, which was hidden in th Russian mountains.

"We never get trips to places like Hogsmead, like you Hogwarts students." Nessa explained. "Vampire's are a massive threat to wizards. Vampires can bite muggles, but cannot turn them into vampires, but if they bite a wizard, then we become one of them. They're trying to build up ana army my father reckons. It is vvery hard to be a minister of magic when there's a war going on."

Christmas wizzed by, and after an eventful trip to Diagon Alley with our entire family, we said goodbye. I promised Nessa and Nina I'd keep in contact, and one day I would visit them, but I wasn't so sure, with all the vampires and all.

Over christmas I also discovered how rusty my Russian was. None of my family could speak very good english, so most of the time they conversed in Russian. Sometimes they'd ask me a question, and all I could to was stare at them blankly. But it was nice to be around people who had the eyes issue, and Uncle Dimitri gave me a potion which his boyfriend made him, as the eye thing creeped him out. I wasn't so sure on trying it, as Uncle Dimitri's boyfriend looked angry and like he didn't want to be there, and whenever Uncle Dimi put his arm around him, or kissed him, he just shook him away.

I stood by the fireplace on the seventh of Janurary, and waited for my dad and Aunty Val to come running down with the floo powder they'd lost. Father came slouching in, mumbling to himself as usual, and put his arms on my shoulders, and looked into my orange eyes.

"Dumbledore has told me about this chamber." he whispered, looking over his shoulder to check whether Aunty Val had come back yet. "Stay away from Slytherins. You will be a target, and I don't want you getting hurt."

His neck snapped around as he heard the door creak open, and saw Grig stood there looking pale. He'd avoided contact with many of the family over the Christmas  break, as he had a hard time speaking to people, and I reckoned his girlfriend had broke up with him.

"Goodbye, Rosie." he said, as he hugged me, and at that moment Aunty Val came on, shacking a tea pot, which contained the floo powder.

"Hogwarts!" I said, and within seconds, I was stood in the Gryffindor common room, greated by George, Fred, Lene, and Lee.