One School's Infamy

It was... ironic, really. Ironic because of all the opening lessons for fourth year when Rhys and other Durmstrang students came to Hogwarts as exchange students, the topic just had to be Gellert Grindelwald.

Grindelwald was the Voldemort before Tom Riddle, the darkest wizard of his own time. And he had been from Durmstrang.

Rhys couldn't help but wonder if it was mere coincidence, or if it had been intentional. Either way, the lesson was certain to be... well, dull, actually. Rhys already knew all about Grindelwald. Why was he taking History, anyway?

Taking a seat, Rhys pulled out his textbook, glancing curiously about the classroom.

Ever since she was a child, Lena loved History. She loved learning about Ancient History, Muggle History - especially on the Nordic countries, for obvious reasons - and History of Magic. So for the Uchitel - or whatever house she happened to be in - it was a relief to know a passion of hers was an actual subject. A living, breathing subject.

The Uchitel waltzed into the classroom, her hair messy from a morning of not bothering to groom her hair for once. She had been drinking last night with Haze for the first time in months, and it was nice to have some of her normal routine fall back into place, even if it wasn't exactly like the way it used to be.

As the Uchitel's eyes scanned the classroom for people she knew, her eyes fell on a head of ginger hair. Her heart immediately began to pound with fear. Three long months without seeing that face in the corridors. She chewed her lip, and as confidently as she could ever walk, she strutted towards him and stood in front of his table.

"Hey Rhys," Lena whispered, trying her best not to have a panic attack. "Mind if I join you?"

Rhys' head shot up, rather quicker than would be usual, blue eyes fixing on the girl's face. Lena... His heart lurched in his chest, then halted altogether. He had no clue he had also held his breath until he tried to speak.

Taking in the required breath, he tried again. "Le." The boy couldn't keep the warmth from his tone, nor prevent his gaze from growing the slightest bit fond.

"No - I don't mind." His voice was also a whisper. With an awkward laugh, he gestured to the seat beside him. "Sit," he said in his thickly accented English.

Lena smiled kindly at Rhys, glancing at his eyes for a second. They were a lighter shade of blue than hers was, or maybe it seemed that way because of the light. She then looked back at the chair and flopped herself down on it, and immediately took out a fancy blue leather notebook containing notes she had taken from her parents' books, and the empty pages at the back weren't really empty at all; they were where she wrote her thoughts.

"I wonder why they learn in fourth year, out of all things, about Grindelwald," Lena mused, opening her notebook. The German words came back so easily to her, and she could remember the exact position she was writing them from and the exact day, and the smell of ink came back like music to her nostrils. "As if we didn't know enough about him already," she added. "I mean, we go to the exact same school he went to.

"So," she asked nonchalantly, effectively changing the subject, "how was your summer? I bet my buttons it was better than mine." She then swatted a fly that was getting in the way of her face. "Mine involved a lot of arguing."

"Perhaps, it is to remind their own students that people from Durmstrang are evil?" Rhys suggested jokingly. He elected to continue in Russian. Speaking English was too tiring after a while.

The boy leaned back in his chair, giving a light shrug. "My summer wasn't bad," he replied. "My aunt and cousin took me everywhere, it seemed. I think they just wanted an extra set of hands to carry things when they went shopping." He smiled to show that he was joking.

"I'm sorry your summer wasn't so good. Wish I could've made it better." The words had left Rhys' mouth before he could filter them, and a faint flush rose on his cheeks. One hand scratching his head he gave a sort of bemused. "Um... Not that I probably could have much, just... I'm sorry it wasn't better."

"Ha," Lena spat, starting to speak in Russian now, "at least we aren't boring." Her expression of disdain turned into a content smile as she spoke it; she had missed speaking Russian in the midst of all this English. Though that should be obvious enough.

The blonde Uchitel decided to put her elbow on the table and rested her cheek on her palm. "Shopping is for squares," she mused, chuckling, "I wish I was there with you; I would have dragged you into the ice rink..." - Lena realized how painfully it paralleled with another memory - "or, y'know, I could have dragged you to Patricia's house so we can play Dodgerock with Alex and the others. Wait - what were they shopping for anyway?"

The Uchitel laughed and shook her head nonchalantly. "There was nothing anyone could have done to make it better," Lena said, knowing in her head that that statement not as truthful as it sounded. Yes, of course someone should have done something to make it better. Ksenia should have not been in the Maze Gardens. Haze should have not told her her painful secret. And most importantly, she shouldn't have such horrific nightmares all the time.

"What a coincidence," Irelia said as she walked into the classroom, noticing that the only occupants of the room were Durmstrang Exchange Students. "You two already must know more about Grindwelwald than your Hogwarts fellows would know in their lives," she said as she sat down at her desk. "We can have an interseting discussion today. Tell me what strikes as the most interesting fact about the Dark Lord?" she asked the students.

Rhys groaned. "What didn't they shop for?" he complained. "Certainly not for anything they actually needed."

The boy looked up as the professor entered, straightening in his seat.

"Grindelvald, he voz Durmstrang student until he voz kicked out - very, very smart student, but he... cause trouble. Even as student, he voz very interested in Deathly Hallows. Th' symbol fer Deathly Hallows voz long thought t' be Grindelvald's sign.

"He is still considered th' most brilliant Dark Lord t' 've lived," Rhys concluded. "Some still consider him t' be above Voldemort."

Lena nodded, "Indeed." She turned to page fifteen of her moleskine and read out of it. "He was above Voldemort. Once, he and Dumbledore were united because of their passion of wizard supremacy. Their slogan was..." Lena turned to the quotations section of her book, "For The Greater Good." She then turned back to her the fifteenth page. "They broke apart because of Dumbledore's sister's death. He also stole the Elder Wand from renowned wandmaker Gregorovitch. He tried to take power in many European countries, and raised an army, but he eventually got life inprisonment in his own prison, Nurmengard. His death was in the spring of nineteen ninety-eight when Voldemort came to prison in an attempt to interrogate him using Legilimency - which failed - to find out where the Elder Wand was." Finished, she gently closed her book.