Child of Fire and Night

Chapter Two

Two days passed quickly as I moved around, packing my personal items and arranging for them to be transferred to Hogwarts with my Uncle. Once all of the things I didn't immediately need were packed and sent off, I set off in search of Viktor and Ivan. They always came to the school two weeks earlier than the rest of the students due to their parents' demanding jobs. It had become our custom over the years to spend those two weeks having the run of the school, swimming in the lake and having the run of the castle and grounds to ourselves. This year, however, our time was cut short with my transfer to Hogwarts.

Just as I was about to knock on the door to their rooms, I heard muffled voices from inside and I listened for a moment.

"....tell her before she leaves?" The voice was Ivan's.

"Of course not." Viktor replied. "Even if I did, there would be no point to it and it would only cause her more stress. Besides, it's not like I enjoy the thought of her going to Hogwarts anymore than you do."

It was quiet for a moment before Ivan spoke again. "I love her too you know, Viktor. If there was anything I could do to keep her here I would, but I think the Headmaster is right to send her away. If she stays, even though she's the strongest student here, she would still be a woman surrounded by men. Who knows how many of them want her, and what they would do if she rejected them."

Viktor sighed. "I know, but I get the feeling the Headmaster is sending her away because of something a little more sinister than that."

It was silent again behind the door, but just as I was about to knock again, Viktor spoke once more. "I keep racking my brains to find a way to convince the Headmaster to let her stay, but I can't think of one. I guess I just can't think of the woman I love leaving, even if she doesn't know that I love her."

I lowered my arm. In all the years I had known Ivan and VIktor, I had never seen them as anything more than my best friends. Hearing them talk so calmly about loving me finally forced me to see them as what they were now; young men. I didn't know how to face them after eavesdropping on what was a private conversation. As I stepped away from the door, It opened and I froze.

"Nyx?" Ivan stood in the door shocked. "We were just about to go looking for you. You leave tonight don't you?"

I looked down and away from him. "Oh. Um, yeah. I leave tonight. A Hogwarts professor is supposed to come and get me. He'll only see my Uncle's office so there'll be no need to wipe their memory of the school."

"I see." Ivan turned slightly to look at Viktor. "Hey, how long were you standing here?"

I shrugged and gave him a small smile. "Not long. I was just about to knock."

"Liar." Ivan whispered. "Want to come in?" He said a little louder.

"Well, I don't exactly want to stay out here." I brushed passed Ivan and sat down on Viktor's bed even though there were two chairs and a table meant for guests and studying.

"You look tired." Viktor commented, awkwardly shifting over to make more room for me.

"A bit. I've spent the past two days packing and helping my Uncle arrange for them to be sent to Hogwarts. Apparently they sort their students into four different houses. Since I haven't been sorted into a house yet, they don't have a room to put my things in so they need to be stored somewhere else. It's a bit nerve-wracking." I pulled my legs up on Viktor's bed and adjusted my dress to cover them.

"You're not going there dressed in that are you?" Ivan asked staring at my dress. It was long, made of red silk and trimmed with gold and and black. Uncle Igor had a seamstress design the dress for me as a uniform.. When winter came around I would wear a long black cloak trimmed with black and white fur.

"I wasn't planning on changing before I leave." I glanced down at my dress, suddenly extremely conscious of how the silk clung to my figure. "Do you think I should change?"

Viktor looked away and Ivan smiled wryly. "It might be best if you do as much as you can to draw as little attention to yourself while you're there. You don't want anyone to know you came from here. It would be bad. The Headmaster isn't going to wipe your memory of what it's like here, so ..." He trailed off. Durmstrang was a secretive school and kept it that way. All visitors and alumni had their memories of Durmstrang partially erased. I would be the sole exception to this rule.

"No. He's not erasing any part of my memory. I can keep my mouth shut and he doesn't want to rob me of any memories of my home." I looked down and sighed.

VIktor cleared his throat. "Are you nervous about what house you'll be put into once you get to Hogwarts?"

He seemed to be over his earlier awkwardness and so was I. I shrugged. "I am, I suppose. Apparently what house you're in at Hogwarts plays a major part in the people you associate with and the lifestyle you do and will lead. It seems like a lot of pressure to conform to the ideal of which house you're put in to. I don't like the idea of being forced to conform to someone else's ideals."

"I'm sure you'll be fine." Ivan said. "No matter what 'house' you're put in, you'll be the best one there."

I sighed again, and rested my head against one of the multiple pillows on Viktor's bed. "I suppose. I won't know what it's like until I get there and meet everyone else. All I know is that the four houses are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Gryffindor values courage, bravery, nerve, and chivalry. Hufflepuff values hard work, patience, justice, and loyalty. Ravenclaw values intelligence, creativity, learning and wit. Slytherin values ambition, cunning, leadership, and resourcefulness. Not really sure how that is meant to apply to everyone. I mean, wouldn't there be times where a witch or wizard would have the traits of more than one House?"

"It's best not to think about it." Viktor said shifting my legs slightly so I was laying down behind him. "Why don't you take a short a nap. It's still pretty early in the day. We can go swimming in the lake when you wake up. Even if you packed away your swimsuit, we can figure something out."

I yawned. His pillows were really soft and comfortable. "I left one in my room."

"Take a short nap, Nyx. We'll wake you up in an hour. You're exhausted." Ivan stood up and threw a blanket over me. "You probably haven't slept very well in the past few days.

"No." I yawned again and closed my eyes. "I haven't." I listened to Viktor and Ivan arguing about Quidditch plays and fell asleep.