The Orlov family name was one which struck fear into the heart of many a Russian; muggle and wizard folk alike. To any other, it was just a name which, after the initial pique of interest at it's foreign sound, would blend into the background like t...
The loud bang that resounded after his study door was slammed shut certainly shocked Vladimir Orlov. He was even more astounded when a box was dropped onto his desk in front of him. He instantly recognised the maroon box that he hadn't seen for years. Gazing upwards in confusion, he met his daughter's glare and quickly averted his gaze back downwards. It still hurt looking at her, as though he'd travelled back twelve years and was looking right into the face of his deceased wife.
"Look at me." Odessa demanded, anger and hurt evident in her voice.
Vlad refused to look up, knowing that she must have read the letters.
"I. Said. Look at me!" Odessa screeched, even shocking herself at the pitch her voice could reach. She drew her wand. "If you don't look at me I'll make you."
Not wanting his daughter to be expelled from the school that kept her out of his sight for the majority of the year, Vlad quickly met her dark eyes, recognisable as her mother's eyes. But for the first time, Vlad realised that they weren't really the same as Alessandra's. The animalistic rage visible in Odessa's eyes at that moment was distinctly unrecognisable, and definitely not something he would have ever seen in the sweet Alessandra. Making this distinction made it a lot easier for Vlad to hold eye contact with the enraged teenager before him.
"Those are private," Vlad spoke in fluent Russian. "You shouldn't have read them and if you promise to put them back and never bring them up again, I'll forget that this ever happened."
"I don't give a damn if I shouldn't have read them because I already did!" Odessa continued her rave in English. "And now, you're going to give me some fucking answers before I take these letters to grandmother and hope she can answer my questions instead."
The whole room shook as Vlad swiftly brought his fist down on the desk in anger and stood. Odessa wasn't short, standing at five foot seven, but her father towered over her and his shadow swallowed her whole. While this may have proved intimidating for even the bravest of Gryffindors, Odessa stood her ground. She had never actually fought with her father before and she thought this could be the longest conversation they'd ever had, so Odessa wasn't going to let fear get the best of her.
Disgust laced Vlad's voice when he raged. "Don't you dare speak to me like that. You are a young lady and you will act as such."
"You were a young gentleman but you certainly didn't act as such when you had an affair with a peasant girl while you were with my mother!"
Vlad barked a laugh. "An affair? I never had an affair. What are you talking about now?"
"Bullshit. The letters are right there! You can't pretend they're between you and mother because that woman was a muggle and her initials weren't the same!" Odessa was outraged that her father could stand to lie when she had clear evidence.
"Here I was thinking Ravenclaw was the house for the clever ones," Vlad sighed, seeming to have calmed down significantly in the last few seconds. Odessa's face contorted, ready to correct him, but Vlad didn't give her a chance to speak. "Essa, if you dine with me later I can explain everything."
Refusing to be put off by the use of her childhood nickname, Odessa was still unsatisfied. "Why does it have to be so formal? Why can't we be like every other normal family and you could just tell me now?"
"Because we aren't a normal family!" Vlad suddenly snapped. "I'll tell Sunny to have dinner ready for six."
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