Lestrange

Diffindo

Today was the first day of October, and Charlie could do everything but fall asleep. Today was the day she would have to take off her bracer, and if it weren't for Igor, she would have probably attempted to run away by now. Igor had become her closest companion over the past month. The two had become inseparable. Magnus would joke about it constantly, but he was never rude about it. It was like he was teasing his little sister or a little kid. Even Ghita was starting to accept that she merely existed, but now all that could change. Not everyone was as kind or as inhumanly compassionate as Igor. What if Magnus turned on her? She wouldn't be able to handle it if he told her she belonged in Azkaban, and Charlie wouldn't even attempt to guess how Ghita would react.

All she could do was toss and turn or stare at her ceiling, but sleep was officially not an option. Sleep had always been a problem, but ever since coming to Durmstrang, it was getting harder and harder to get to sleep or avoid horrible nightmares. So, Charlie decided to get up early and avoid both issues. She pulled off her dark crimson cover and shuffled over to her trunk before dressing in her training uniform. It had started to fit a bit better than it did a month ago, but it still didn't fit quite right. The only thing that truly fits her were her boots.

After she was dressed, Charlie snuck out of her room and down the steps as quietly as possible, hoping to avoid any unwanted attention, especially from Helga Vang. She was a seventh year with bright red hair that matched her personality, and she had seen firsthand how she could talk her way out of any detention. It wasn't because she was clever. She could talk for three hours uninterrupted as if her mouth was charmed to do so. Charlie had barely said more than five complete sentences at a time since she arrived. So when she found the common room was empty, she was glad she could avoid the unwanted conversation.

She walked the halls at a relaxed pace; with no one around, there wasn't anyone she needed to avoid as she made her way to one of the indoor training rooms. They were usually empty, so Magnus had taken her there to put in extra training hours. When she entered, three students struggled to get through the various exercises and drills Charlie had already mastered with help from Magnus. Charlie had wanted to enter unnoticed, but their eyes were on her as soon as she opened the door.

"Didn't think you would need to squeeze in some extra training." The rather chubby blonde snapped to her left.

Charlie glanced over and rolled her eyes. Petia. Orlov yelled it enough. It was hard to forget. She was just as short as she was, with dull blonde hair that looked like she cut herself with a pair of rusty kitchen scissors and dull brown eyes. Freckles dusted her round face and nose as she continued to give Charlie a vicious glare. She would have been pretty if it weren't for her permanent sneer. "I don't. I couldn't sleep," Charlie muttered as she entered the room, keeping her arm hidden, hoping to be left alone.

"You know Magnus only uses you to get on Orlov's good side?" The single boy chided. Blagoy. Another name she heard often, and next to him stood his twin sister Ana. Both shared a frizzy mess of dark hair with wide blue eyes that made it look as if they were owls. It didn't help they were both paler than ghosts with thin lips and narrow noses that reminded her of a hummingbird with the personality of an annoying fly.

"Magnus is my friend, and I should warn you to keep his name out of your mouth. He doesn't like when people make assumptions about his character," Charlie warned as she made her way over to grab one of the wooden staves hanging on the wall. All she wanted to do was practice and be left alone, and the three bruised and bandaged idiots couldn't take the hint.

Petia moved to stand in her way and crossed her arms. "He's not your friend; you're his project. My brother told me he's nothing but a blood traitor who could barely use magic. No wonder the Cretu family wants to disown him. The only reason he still holds that name is because he's the only male heir." She chuckled as she moved to block Charlie's path when she tried to step around her.