The East Wind brings Snow and Ice (open)

[Sergej Munter]

Once again, it was time for another venture into society and a tall young man made his way through the small village by the name of Hogsmeade. The year was coming to a close and by now a small blanket of snow was covering the roofs of the little houses. Sergej passed an elderly witch who was muttering under her breath about a great evil that was approaching fast and he inwardly smiled at the nonsensical ramblings of the elder. His face, though, remained perfectly blank, as his parents had trained him never to betray any of his thoughts with his face or body.

On the other side of the street, a few young children were huddling close to each other to share some warmth amongst themselves and he shook his head. For someone like him, who had been raised in the icy cold of Siberia, the temperatures in Scotland, even during this time of year, were merely low enough to pull on a thin jacket and Sergej could only sneer in the face of such pitiful pamperedness. Showing weakness was something alien to him and he had no patience for the whining of others.

Opening the door to a small pub, Sergej pushed his way through the crowd of costumers to reach the bar where he ordered a drink. „A pint of your best ale, Sir.“ He pronounced carefully, his „r“ rolling off his tongue gave away his Russian origin. „There you go, lad.“ The bartender slammed a glass of beer on the counter and Sergej dropped a few coins into his hand in exchange. He took his drink to an unoccupied table to the far end of the room, located in a shadowy corner where he sat down, his gaze focused on the falling snow outside. Winter had always held a unique fascination for him and once again he found himself wondering about what heinous crimes these innocent blankets of white would conceal this year.

[Anastasia Velikov]

It was almost Christmas, and while she usually would have been rugged up at home with her family, she was instead stuck in the UK for the holiday. While that meant being around the slightly annoying English students and missing out of spending time with parents, Anastasia found that the most frustrating part of all was the social norm of extracting oneself from their dormitory and venturing out into the real world.

Anastasia hated the cold. Her fingers were growing numb as she made her way down the path to Hogsmeade village, and although she wanted to find a gift for Lexi, she hoped to find somewhere for a drink before she started her search. The snow that had started to blanket on the ground made soft crunching sounds as her boots landed on it. Despite hating the chill in the air, Anastasia couldn’t help but love the soft, white snow and the picturesque view that it created.

So distracted by the beauty of the winter, the blonde almost walked straight past a pub. Pushing past somebody that stood in the doorway, she quickly maneuvered through the front room on the Hog’s Head Inn and reached the bar as quickly as she could. Her gaze moved slowly from the bartender to a male voice nearby and she pursed her brow in interest. She recognised the boy to be a student at Durmstrang bu she had never spoken to him before. She also noticed his accent was quite similar to her own, and she wondered if he still lived in Russia or if he had moved like she had.

When it was her turn to be served, Anastasia asked for a heated firewhiskey, and waited for a moment before taking her drink and paying. Moving out of the crowd that had been gathered near the bar, she glanced around for an empty table. The was none left, and although she really wanted to sit, she moved out of the way of other customers and stood on the outskirts of the shadowed corner, leaning against a wall as she sipped her whiskey and examined to crowd.

[Sergej Munter]

Sergej calmly looked through the window, watching the people outside hurry through the streets, most of them barely visible being all bundled up in their hats and scarves and thick robes, as if they were trying to hide from the icy wind. The snow was falling more heavily now, he noticed with pleasure, his lips twitching slightly at the edges, though not enough to be considered a smile. Falling snow always had a very calming effect on him, soothing his nerves where they had been rattled by the many annoyances around him.

For a moment, Sergej thought about how simple it would be to sneak up to one of those people, hidden mostly by the falling snow, to let his dagger slide into their unaware bodies. It would easily cut through the clothes and, with a little added pressure, the skin. Then it would sink deeper and deeper into their soft flesh till it would hit and damage a vital organ, liver or spleen most probably, depending on the side he would approach from. They would start bleeding internally, barely feeling anything, as the wound left by his thin blade would be hardly noticeable, especially covered by thick clothes as it was and by the time they felt the effects, it would be much too late.

He took another sip of his beer and touched the cool steel of his dagger which was hidden under his sleeves, easily accessible, though unused since a few weeks. Hogwarts and Europe were so very different from his home that Sergej was still trying to fit in, getting a feeling for the country and its people. Yet, he always would prefer company of like-minded people to others and his sharp eyes immediately took in a reflection on the glass. A girl that he knew from Durmstrang had moved to stand not far away from him and he turned his head slightly to be able to look at her. “Why don’t you take a seat, Anastasia?” he used his foot to kick the opposite chair a little towards her and raised his brow at her, the only sign of invitation she would get.

[Anastasia Velikov]

Anastasia had a lingering feeling as she continued to sip her drink and examine the room. She was sure that someone had been watching her for a few moments before she began to worry. One could never be too careful, especially in a time like the one in which they were living. Thankfully, however, it appeared that the person was not hiding while looking at her, but simply out of plain sight. Damn it, Ana! You should have seen him, she thought as she turned to face the boy who had addressed her.

A small, polite smile made its way onto her pale face as she examined the boy. It was the same one that she had heard order his drink just a few minutes before, judging by his accent. It seemed that he had managed to find the last empty table in the inn and was willing to share it with her. The table was shrouded in shadow, but she continued to internally scold herself as she approached the table and dropped gently into the offered seat. “Thank you.. uhh.. I am afraid I do not know your name,” she said, the same dainty smile in place.

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