Not Your Stereotype

Maybe it was her nerves, and touching him seemed to ease her worries for a minute. There wasn’t anything to fuss over. He looked great, and she hoped there would be more occasions to see him dressed in a suit soon. 

“I’m sure you have. Dominique has enough Veela in her to know better than to act as foolish as the rest of us. I’d consider her on the calmer side of my family.” Dominique had always cared much more about other things than Lily and her ‘childish’ pranks. That never stopped her from messing with her cousin, though. Hearing his chuckle, Lily smiled and turned her attention away from his tie and back to him. His hands pulled hers away and she moved them to hang loosely around his neck. “Is that so? You’ve never mentioned that to me before. I also don’t think I’ve heard you tell a joke before.” Eyebrows raised at his mention at his sexuality. It wasn’t anything they had talked about, and Lily was happy to hear him opening up to her more. “I can’t ruin that for you. I’ll stop,” she smiled, her hands falling from his shoulders to his hands. “I might just be nervous. I’ve never brought a date to anything. I’ve only mentioned you to Teddy.” Lily was happy to be hearing more about him and how he ended up here, and she hoped this was the start of him becoming more comfortable with her. “It never hurts to give it a shot. Where you still in Bulgaria at the time?” She walked backwards, pulling him with her towards the Great Hall.

“Your family is terrifying, you know that?” Mikhail didn’t just mean Harry, though he was probably the scariest of them all in Mikhail’s opinion. That was likely only because he knew Harry would be the one coming at him with the hard questions. He was fully expecting that. “You probably haven’t, I don’t tell many jokes, nor do I talk about my bisexuality much. I must say, and don’t take too much offense, I noticed your brother before you.” Mikhail was partially teasing, but he had also quite literally laid eyes on Albus before he saw Lily, so it wasn’t a lie. “Perfect, I don’t want my tie to fall off either, if we’re being honest.” It was a weird statement, but he was saying a lot of weird things tonight. “Have I met Teddy?” He shook his head. “No, I was here travelling.”

Lily could go on and on about her days here, and she hoped he hadn’t grown tired of her stories just yet. His silence no longer took her off guard anymore. It was just how he was, and she knew he was still listening to her. She was slowly figuring out how to read him without him needing to say a word. Sometimes Lily worried she talked too much–especially when she was excited about something. 

“Mostly the Weasley side. Then again, I’ve heard stories about the dad’s father. I just had to carry on the tradition.” It was practically in her blood to cause trouble. Her mom said she’d been a troublemaker practically since the day she was born. “Hey, the reason I have to play it cool around you is not because of pranks.” Lily could feel the heat rising to her cheeks, and she was sure they were turning red. She finished straightening his tie before grabbing his hand again. “And I like who you are. The universe has a funny way of building us, doesn’t it?” Lily was still unsure about what had happened to him completely at Durmstrang, but he’d come to her when he was ready. “What made you want to come here and teach Defense Against the Dark Arts?”

-

Mikhail took another moment to gaze around the castle while she continued to fuss over his outfit. He didn’t think there were possibly that many flaws in what he had chosen to wear, but he was happy to let her do it. Part of his brain said maybe she was nervous and it was helping calm her down, while the other part figured it didn’t matter, because this was likely as much physical contact as they would be allotted until after the party. 

“I must say, I don’t know all of the Weasley side of your family, but I’ve heard stories about the last generation from the other Professors. I did tutor Dominique for a short time, but she doesn’t strike me as the pranking type.” She had been more focused on her appearance and everybody else’s opinion of it, but he also hadn’t seen her in a long time. Things were prone to change and he would be a fool if he didn’t recognize that. “Ah, is that true?” Mikhail let out a soft, but rare chuckle as he took both of her hands and pulled them away from his tie. “If you straighten it any further, I will no longer be interested in men.” It was his attempt at a joke, though even he didn’t know if it was actually that funny. He didn’t care. “It does, and I didn’t want to. I was coming through the country to visit when I stopped by. I figured it was worth an interview, and I never thought I’d be offered the position.”

Harry raised his eyebrows, immediately intrigued. He made a point of brushing away Mikhail’s apology. He had allowed himself to become distracted which was never a good thing. “Mikhail?” He echoed, trying to place the name. He felt bad to assume, but given the combination of name and the accent he was fairly certain the man hadn’t attended Hogwarts. Now he was teaching though, Defence Against the Dark Arts too. Something about that was incredibly comforting. Lily would be safe with him. “You’re a professor?” He asked, wondering whether it would be outright rude to ask about his relationship with his daughter. It was no secret they had attended the event together, after all. “Thank you for introducing yourself.” He smiled warmly. It couldn’t be easy approaching the father of somebody you were seeing, but he imagined approaching Head Auror, Harry Potter had to be absolutely terrifying. Mikhail seemed strong though, he didn’t even look a little fazed which was already earning his approval. “I noticed you came here with my daughter tonight.” He said, deciding against trying to be coy. He may as well say it. His eyes were shining, a smile still playing at his lips to let him know he wasn’t in any trouble. But his curiosity was very obvious too. “I guess I’m not allowed to ask how serious that is?” 

.

Mikhail was the observant type, which was one of the reasons he was good at what he did, why the professors targeted him for a position of power at Durmstrang, and why he made a good member of Dumbledore’s Army. It helped him to recognize that Harry wasn’t all there, daydreaming perhaps, and he wondered if it would have been better to approach him a little later. Though it was far too late to consider that now. “Yes, sir,” he nodded, “I am. It’s only my second year teaching. After I graduated from school I took a few years away to travel and - uhm,” he paused to find the correct word because the only thing coming to him was otkrivam, “Find myself and the things I enjoyed.” Mikhail didn’t understand why he was being thanked for introducing himself, so he cocked his head to the side slightly. It was only when Harry announced that he had seen Mikhail and Lily together that it sort of made sense to him. “Yes, we did. She asked me to be her plus one, despite assuring her that I would already be here. I think she was concerned that my status as a Durmstrang alumnus would mean I wasn’t here,” he smiled a little bit, “She has an open invitation to stay for dinner whenever she would like, but marriage is nowhere near on the table yet. I’m not sure if that answers the question at all, but we haven’t quite sat down to discuss it. Or maybe we have. English is my third language, so I am not always so...understandable about it.”

Not Their School

Perhaps Beatrice would have gotten more entertainment out of a generation of students doing their best to outdo each other in their latest life achievements had she actually cared what they were doing. None of her plans were so grandiose, but she wasn’t going for ambition. Instead she chose to slip away; there was no one worth a conversation with anyway.

Beatrice wandered further out of the Great Hall, avoiding the group of people gathered close to the entrance. Most of the halls were illuminated, and she wasn’t planning on getting herself lost. She quickly memorized each turn she took, her hand against the wall.

Beatrice looked for something, but wasn’t quite sure what it was. Her eyes darted forward to find more long halls, though this time there was a figure there that surprised her. She mumbled an apology, trying to think of an excuse as to why she would be so far from the party, only to be distracted by who she has come across.

“Do I know you?”

The question was so strange and out of place, considering that Beatrice knew no one there. This was not her school, nor it had been her late husband’s—the fact that she was even here was more out of a kindness to her family.

@mikhailpetrov​ 

-

Mikhail had lost Lily along the way at some point, she had stopped to talk to one of her friends from school and walked off with them. It didn’t bother him at all, actually he was glad she had those connections with people even after a few years apart. Sometimes he forgot that she was far less removed from school than he was, but he had no intention of ever going back to Durmstrang for anything.

He also took Lily’s departure as an excuse to step away from the crowd for a little while. Most of the people there were side-eyeing him any time he spoke, and despite understanding their weariness, he was a bit sick of it. They were all assuming things of him that he couldn’t disprove without starting a conversation he didn’t want to have, so he took himself on a walk instead. 

As he strolled down the hall, a voice pulled his attention from analyzing the paintings to the figure it belonged to. There was something familiar about her, but it took a moment for Mikhail to even come close to placing it. “Perhaps,” he suggested, “If my assumptions are correct, we were in a similar year at Durmstrang. Though, I think I was one year above you. Mikhail Petrov.”

Harry had revisited the castle once or twice before, but never for such an extended period of time, never when the school was empty. Calm and quiet. Sitting at his table, he steadily ran his finger around the rim of his champagne flute, entirely lost in thought. The Great Hall looked beautiful now, it was almost reminiscent of the Yule Ball. He could still remember sitting on the stage that was erected each year for the Sorting ceremony, begging the hat not to put him in Slytherin. He wondered briefly whether Albus had considered asking the same. He hoped not. He had tried so hard to raise children who proudly embraced who they were. Sighing quietly, he lowered his gaze, staring down at the hard stone floor. Unfortunately, despite so many happy memories, having time to reflect was making it all too easy for him to remember the hall as it had looked when he was seventeen. Rubble and ruin, dust and smoke, the wounded and dead laid out where he was sitting now. Remus and Tonks, Fred, Colin… so much horror. So much terror. He was so distracted, that he didn’t notice somebody had joined him at his table until it was far too late. Flinching visibly, his champagne very nearly spilled, and he hurried to compose himself, swallowing the familiar sense of panic that was clawing at his chest. He was safe. He wasn’t seventeen anymore. “You startled me.” He admitted, offering his company a sheepish grin. “Is everything okay?” 

Mikhail still wasn’t entirely sure he could call Lily his girlfriend, but they were as close to it as he had ever been with somebody. The only thing he might change about the situation was her last name, and not in the marriage sort of way - though maybe eventually - but in the fact that he didn’t think he was the right sort of man to be seen around the Potters. He had a dark vibe to him that meant some professors still didn’t trust him despite holding his position for multiple years at this point. It also meant that meeting her father was going to be far harder than the average parent - boyfriend meeting, but he was willing to take the chance. Mikhail spotted Harry sitting at his assigned table, champagne in hand, and he took advantage of the quiet moment and approached him. “Hello, sir,” Mikhail murmured. He thought he had spoken loudly enough to not startle Harry, but apparently he hadn’t managed. “My apologies, I simply came to introduce myself. My name is Mikhail Petrov, I’m the newest Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.”

@mikhailpetrov​

Lily knew he would already be there since he was a professor, but that didn’t stop her from asking Mikhail to be her plus one. Her hands were sweating when she asked, and she wasn’t even sure what made her so nervous. But, here she was with her hand in his as her heels clicked and echoed in the hallways while they walked. It was nice to have a relaxing night after what had happened to her brother. She didn’t feel as on edge as she had, and she was around the people that made her feel the safest.

“Right in that classroom,” she said, pointing to the Charms classroom, “I received my first detention as a first year. I stuck an ink bomb in my professors book, courtesy of Uncle George. When she opened it, her face was covered in ink.” She turned to face Mikhail to adjust his tie. It wasn’t even crooked–it was just an excuse to touch him. “I was still working on my poker face then. I gave myself away.” She smoothed out his coat before leaning in to kiss his cheek and grabbing his hand again. “Do you ever wish you had gotten to come here instead?”

Mikhail knew the layout of the castle well, as he would be a completely lost cause at this point if he didn’t, but he was enjoying hearing it from Lily’s point of view. There was a certain charm to her stories that he knew came from having once seen the walls from a student’s point of view. It made him pause sometimes, though he was already quiet by default, because he didn’t think he’d have the same experience if he were to show her around Drumstrang. Not that Mikhail ever planned to step foot back in those halls for as long as he lived.

“Your whole family is trouble, aren’t they?” Mikhail wasn’t surprised, he’d met enough of the Potter’s and Weasley’s to know that each and every one of them had a devious streak. He’d never taught them, but some of the professor’s had warned him about the possibilities of more of them being there far too soon. While he didn’t know the truth in that, he wasn’t going to forget it either. “Mmm, you still must work on it sometimes,” he teased, standing still while she straightened his coat, “Yes and no. Durmstrang broke me in many ways, but it is also why I am the way I am.”

Potions Purchase

Bulgaria had been good—enviable, even. Julian had tons of questions about what practices were like, though this man wasn’t actually a player or a coach himself. He was curious to see what other teams were doing differently and how they formulated strategies… but that seemed like a question for another time, though Julian let some silence pass as he thought about Quidditch before the man asked what Julian had been asking about what brought him here.

“I mean—yes.” Julian realized that his question was probably a little rude, not really sure what he meant by it himself, though the answer… was not one he actually expected. A part of him suddenly realized how detached he was from the school that he was no longer aware of whatever faculty changes had happened over time. That was bound to happen just by Julian being busy being (or trying to be) an adult. “How do you like it—being a teacher?”

Julian had been asking tons of people about all of their work lately, trying to find his place that didn’t involve being in the sky getting whacked in the head by bludgers. He could teach flying, and he saw himself becoming a referee. It was a simple, stable solution to a problem he couldn’t quite manage to solve.

-

Mikhail didn’t think the questions were rude, and they weren’t particularly personal either, so he didn’t mind answering them. Some people would probably say his motivations were a personal question, but Mikhail knew how to get around things like that if it became too much of an issue. “I quite enjoy it actually. Which was a little bit surprising to me because I always thought I would do something...more rugged, but it’s enjoyable.” Mikhail shrugged a little bit.

“What do you do?” He hadn’t tracked quidditch since his accident, at which point he was told by doctors he would never be able to properly play again. There were too many vulnerabilities that came with being half blind, and quidditch wasn’t very forgiving, so most teams would immediately take advantage of it, which wasn’t good for him. “I assume you are at least a fan of quidditch considering the magazine and conversation,” he grinned.

Lily assumed Mikhail would tell her when he was ready, and if he never told her that was okay too. She’d be lying if she said she wasn’t curious about his eye, but she’d never push his boundaries. “That was the plan. Well, not really. I didn’t completely plan to have you fuck me on your desk. Things just worked out that way,” she teased. Lily’s heart was pounding in her chest as she waited for his answer. The silence that briefly fell over them as he turned off the water didn’t ease her anxieties. “Not just that.” She slipped in after him and let her back rest against his chest. “I–” She sighed and looked over her shoulder at him. “I don’t know how to get this out. I’m not good with words. That’s why i always leave. Teddy told me I should talk to you about how I’m feeling, but I can’t find the right words to say. I’ve never done this before,” she said, laughing at herself. “I want to wake up like that with you all the time and not just after sex.”

“You say that wasn’t your plan, but you showed up with no underwear on and started flirting with me, so no matter how many times you tell me that wasn’t your plan, I won’t believe it.” Considering he had fallen for it, it was a pretty good plan. Especially if it truly wasn’t in her plan the day she arrived. Mikhail simply didn’t know anybody who made it a habit of visiting friends while nude from the waist down if they weren’t thinking of anything, but maybe he was the weird one here. “Ok, then not that,” he narrowed his eyes at her a little bit in confusion, maybe he was missing something, “If you want to wake up like that, then you can stay over more. I don’t mind.” Mikhail felt like he was missing something, but he didn’t understand what he was missing. She wanted to hang out more and not just have sex? That was something he could handle.

It was very rare that Tash found herself anywhere near the institution her brother had gotten himself employed at, but for the sake of her conscience and her parents, she made an effort to meet up whenever she was near. After going after a particular nasty item hidden away in the moors of Scotland she had only then remembered about the promise she’d made and had sent word to Mikhail she’d meet up with him in Hogsmeade. Since she wasn’t a student or part of the faculty of Hogwarts she wasn’t exactly allowed in which was all too fine with her. She didn’t need too many faces seeing hers around these parts. Not that there were many she knew besides Mikhail.

Arriving at the the Three Broomsticks, she’d surprised herself by beating the elder sibling and found a table to claim while she waited. There didn’t look to be many students about and she was grateful for that. Students asked too many questions and even just visiting a family member needed to be discrete, as silly as that sounded. Her gaze caught the familiar face entering and a smile crept onto her features as she raised a hand, to grab his attention. 

“Look at you-” Waiting till he got closer to address him, pretending as if it hadn’t been ages since they’d last spoken. “Maybe being a professor does actually suit you.”

@mikhailpetrov​

The last thing Mikhail had ever expected was a note on his desk, one step beyond last was a note on his desk from his sister. She had borderline hated him from the day he stepped foot in their family home, and for many years the only thing he wanted to do was befriend her. It had never worked, and part of Mikhail was pretty sure she still hated him, which was why he was deeply curious about why she was contacting him. He assumed she was up to no good and it was one of the only reasons he was agreeing to see her. With his new position as spy for Dumbledore’s Army, it was possible she had vital information, but it was also possible she wouldn’t tell him if she did.

When he strolled into the Three Broomsticks, Mikhail was dressed head to toe in black, which wasn’t out of the ordinary, and neither was the eye patch set firmly against his bad eye. What was slightly unusual was the hand shoved in his pocket for the sole purpose of easy access to his wand. Just in case. Mikhail didn’t want to assume anything bad, Natasha was still his sister after all, but it was hard not to after their path’s had begun to split during their time at Durmstrang.

“Who would have ever thought my calling would be directly involving myself further within the dark arts, hm?” He arched a single brow at her in amusement. “It’s been a long time, Natasha.”

“I understand that.” She’d never push him outside of his comfort zone, especially when it came to his eye, and she left it at that. Besides, she was too happy with how her morning was going, and she wondered by she had never stayed with him before. She could get used to this. She wasn’t sure what this was, but Lily knew it was making her happy. “I am full of constant surprises. You know that,” she chuckled before leaning into his touch. Her arms wrapped loosely around his shoulders. Lily should leave. This was supposed to be no strings attached, but she was already getting caught up in him. “I’d say it’s safer.” Her hands cupped his cheeks, and she smiled up at him. “I know it’s supposed to just be sex. Don’t get me wrong, I love that part,” she said, her cheeks turning red. “But what if we did this more often?

“Which I greatly appreciate.” Part of the reason Lily was still in his life was because she didn’t force Mikhail out of his comfort zone. Any other time he had tried to date so far, people were curious. They wanted to see his eye, they wanted to know what had caused it and why he was so shy, but they didn’t want to wait for him to tell them. It was about when they wanted information. So, while he was sure Lily was curious, both about the appearance and his history, she was waiting for him to share on his own time. “I do know that, I’ve known that since the day you showed up at my office with a plan I never would have seen coming.” As soon as the tub was full, Mikhail stretched down to turn the water off and slipped in. It was an excuse not to answer her question, because he was a bit confused. “The sleeping at my house part? I suppose that’s if you want to.”

Arlo felt small. Usually he was used to making himself small, it was a good way to avoid unwanted attention, to feel as though he was safer. But this wasn’t through choice now, this sense of vulnerability and openness was entirely against his will. He almost wanted them to continue so that he didn’t have time to dwell on what he had just seen, what Mikhail had just seen. But he was simultaneously grateful for the break. “You speak as though I can be healed.” He said quietly, still a little breathless from the exertion. 

Falling silent again, watching the man in surprise, He had never asked for fear of being rude, but he had spoken to James about it once before, and even his boyfriend didn’t have the information to offer. “No.” He admitted, unable to hide his sudden curiosity. Of course, he knew Mikhail hadn’t studied at Hogwarts, it was a small enough school that almost anybody within their late teens and twenties was easy to recognise from the castle halls. But he had never truly spoken to the man until this moment, he had never even thought to consider where abroad might he had studied. “Yes, though I- I can’t say I know the institute you attended.” 

“You’d be surprised what can and cannot be healed in this world.” Mikhail stepped over to the window and spent a long moment looking out of it. He heavily related to the idea that you couldn’t be healed, because he often felt the same about himself. His body was cursed and his mind was doomed to relive it for the rest of his life. Every time a shot of pain surged through his eye and face he was reminded of the things in this world that had ruined his life. The things he’d never be able to get back. “Even if it isn’t fully. In Japan they fill cracks in pottery with gold, why can’t we?”

“Hm,” Mikhail mused to himself for a moment. It was interesting that somebody so close to James would know so little about him, but he supposed that meant James didn’t know much about him either. In Mikhail’s mind, that was a good thing. There were very few people in the world that he wanted to have access to information about him. It meant his friends nor foes had access to him. “I attended Durmstrang,” he turned back around to face Arlo, “And contrary to everything they state in the media, they are dark magic wielders. They teach it beginning in you second year, and things don’t always go to plan. Their instruction is very much...figure it out, and even some of their best students get hurt.”

Arlo offered Mikhail a weak smile. He appreciated the attempt to lighten the mood, though he couldn’t say it had been very successful. Making sure his wand was still in his pocket, where he wouldn’t be tempted to draw it and defend himself, he set his jaw. He knew enough about the process to understand it wouldn’t hurt, but there was a very good chance he was about to relive some of his most traumatic memories, and he didn’t know how to make himself comfortable with that. Not when he hadn’t even shared half of them with James. Trying to keep Mikhail’s advice in mind, not thinking too much, or too little, he stood waiting for him to cast the spell. 

His breath catching in his throat, he realised everything he had done to ‘prepare’ had been entirely pointless. It wasn’t painful, he had been right about that. But it felt like somebody was clawing at his brain, pulling at his memories, specifically the bad ones, the private ones, the ones he was trying to repress. He was overly aware of the fact that what he could see, Mikhail could see too, but he didn’t feel as though he had any control over the situation. He was viewing himself, as if from outside of his body. Arlo at five years old, biting down on a trembling bottom lip, hiding a tiny hand beneath his dress robes. A stinging hex, that was his father’s favourite way to make sure he was alert and composed. He would only remove it when he had earned back his favour. He couldn’t remember what he had done wrong on that particular day, but it had happened so many times, did it really matter? 

And then he was seven, curled on the floor of his ensuite after emptying the contents of his stomach into the toilet bowl. He had spoken out of turn, embarrassed his parents at an event they were hosting, and had been rewarded with a hex or a curse that caused a painful ache to spread throughout his body. It had escalated as the night progressed until it had made him sick. And then a memory with James… the first time they had kissed. That wasn’t for Mikhail to see, he didn’t want Mikhail to see. He tried, with all of his might, to block the spell, to shut it down. But he wasn’t strong enough. They were fifteen, awkward and skinny. Clumsy in their desperate show of affection. And then it stopped. As suddenly as the memories had bombarded him, he had control again, he could think clearly. Blinking, he was surprised to find himself kneeling on the floor, struggling to catch his breath. 

“I’m okay-” He insisted, before Mikhail could ask. He carefully pulled himself to his feet, knowing it was useless. Chances were he was going to fall again, but it helped him to feel more dignified than he had. He couldn’t bring himself to look his tutor in the eye, so he swallowed, staring at the floor of the Shack. Scratches still marred the wood, even after all this time. Teddy’s father had left those marks, that was a strange thought. Swallowing, he forced himself to focus, he was becoming distracted and he had been actively warned against that. “I’m okay, we can try again.” 

There were very few things Mikhail could truly say he hated in life, but this? It reminded him far too much of the things that had been done to him at school. Dark magic was a hidden staple at Durmstrang, and it probably still was, despite everything they said about no longer teaching, practicing, or using it against students. His own lessons of legimency had brought up horrible memories that he didn’t know he had. Some of his birth family, some of leaving them, some of the first few nights he had spent with his new family, and everything in between. Watching awful experiences run through somebody else’s mind didn’t sit well with him, but he was doing this to help benefit Arlo.

The memories of abuse struck Mikhail to his core, not because he could completely relate to them, he’d barely had a family for most of his life, because it was hard to see the boy in front of him look so feeble. It didn’t help that almost none of the memories were necessarily better than the last. They started bad and just got worse from there, until they landed on one of his Hogwarts experiences. Mikhail didn’t know the context of any of these memories, but he recognized James, the man hadn’t changed that much in the years since Hogwarts. Taller and bulkier yes, but that was about it. Considering Mikhail didn’t know where this memory would lead, and not wanting to overdo their first attempt, he pulled back. Having been pushed too far his first session of legimency, Mikhail knew how awful it would feel if he didn’t give Arlo breaks at the correct times. 

“I know you are,” he replied, “It’s painful for reasons that’s aren’t easily healed.” Now that Arlo had experienced it, he would know exactly what Mikhail was talking about. It was also why Mikhail was going to give him a break, regardless of what Arlo asked for. “Have I ever told you what happened to my eye?” The answer was no, of course, Mikhail hadn’t told anybody what happened to his eye except for the people at school who needed to know. It seemed odd to launch in to a random story about himself after what had happened a moment ago. “I assume you know I didn’t go to Hogwarts?”

Julian didn’t have time to scrutinize people on the street, though it was rarely that total strangers actually came up to him to ask for help. As odd as the other man looked—though all black wasn’t really a statement to make so much as the eyepatch was—Julian wasn’t bothered so much by that. Rather, it was how strange the request was.

Proper decorum dictated that Julian would not ask and continued the conversation, his brow lifting in surprise. “Huh. It’s been a while since I’ve heard about them—but I guess that’s just because I’ve grown up with the teams in the League here.” There was a pause, but Julian kept himself from just outright asking if he followed anyone else. “Do they have their own league there, does Bulgaria only have one team that participates in the World Cup?”

Julian kept the magazine in his hands as he absentmindedly flipped through the pages without looking. The magical community was… small; everyone seemed to know everyone already, or at least have heard of them. This man wasn’t totally lost; he still knew names and places that anyone would be familiar with after having been in this country for at least a month. “What brought you here—I mean, aside from having to meet Albus Potter?”

. 

“We do a little bit. Our country is much smaller than England, so we don’t really have enough people to make the same leagues professionally. So, out leagues are for younger people, you are juniors and then when you are good enough you play nationally. Then from there and there.” It had been a long time since Mikhail paid attention to anything related to Bulgaria, so it was fully possible that things had changed since he left. It wouldn’t matter much to him. “But yes, only one world cup team.”

For a moment, Mikhail furrowed his brows and thought through the question. Maybe he was missing something, as he was often missing something, or overthinking. “In this place or in this country?” He tried to clarify and then realized it didn’t actually matter. “I’m the defense against the dark arts professor at hogwarts, so I moved to this country for that, but I’m only in this town to see Albus. I don’t come here very often and don’t live in this place.”

.

It took her a moment to realize she’d bumped into her colleague, but seeing the familiar face of Mikhail made Nikoleta relax a bit and smile, shaking her head slightly. “It’s alright Mikhail…it is crazy how overwhelming it can still be when you’ve lived here for several years.” Her smile softened slightly, motioning over her shoulder in the direction she’d been heading.

“If you want, we could grab a drink and something to eat at the Leaky Cauldron. I’m currently avoiding grading this latest round of essays in favor of some fresh air, though good company and good food is an even better trade off I would say.”

On a bad day, with Mikhail’s visual impairment, general eyesight could be a struggle. He often had pain radiating from the injured eye and it could sometimes cause a haze in the eye that did work and it made the simple things - recognition and depth perception - difficult. He hated to admit that was happening to him today. “It truly is. It’s worse for me because I actually live in the middle of nowhere. I decided it would be better not to live here.”

He pressed his hands into his pockets with a smile and a nod. “I would love to do that. I’m doing a similar thing. Not with essays because I don’t believe in them so much for my class, but I have to review a bunch of questionnaires and I really do not wish to.”

James’ jaw tensed, nodding as he sat back down, clearing his throat to relieve some of the tension inside his chest. Since the news article was released, it had felt as though someone had been sitting on his chest. A constant, unending pressure that woke him at night. He was used to pain, could let the searing, burning ache in his bones fade to the back of his mind when it flared up. Had almost become accustomed to it. He wasn’t, however, used to, or at all able to handle the feeling that he couldn’t possibly fill his lungs. That something, fear, anxiety, whatever it was, was blocking his oxygen. 

So he did the only thing he knew how to do. He sucked it up and started fixing things. Or… trying to. His father had an idea of how to fix things, but there had to be more, and the man sitting across from him knew more than James about tactics and strategy. “No, no retaliation,” he agreed, nodding with Mikhail. He enjoyed the idea. Strike first. But then they would strike back, and there was far too much on the line here. Running a hand down his tired face, he looked thoughtful. “Yes…. that’s what I was thinking as well. It seems like the only possible option, at least the only one with a chance of being successful. That’s… part of why I brought you here,” he said, taking a deep breath. “But I can’t… ask you to do that just for my family. I can’t be selfish like that,” he said, wishing he were wired differently. He longed to be willing to ask people to risk their lives for him, his family. Life would be much easier if he could. But there always had to be something in the bigger picture.  “If you want to, or… if you think it would be useful for other reasons, then… you’re the only person I would trust this with.” 

Mikhail figured they could the tension in the room with a knife, but he couldn’t argue with it or say he didn’t understand. It brought him back to the first nights in the hospital after waking up from his coma. The constant expectation that something bad was going to happen and there was absolutely nothing he could do about it. This time, maybe he could do something about it, but he had to play his cards correctly. “There is too much at stake,” he murmured, “Especially because we don’t know what they have or who they have. They could very well have infiltrated our ranks or that of the ministry already. It’s happened before and there is no reason to assume they couldn’t do it again.” He didn’t want to be alarmist, but Mikhail was the type to keep his eye out, he had to worry. He couldn’t keep himself from it. “I may need a day or two to get my affairs into order, but I would, in theory, be happy to accept the role you’re offering me. In return, I will give you my orders for what I would like done with my affects, assuming that I don’t make it out of this for any reason.” Mikhail had spent a long time fighting back against dark magic, he couldn’t back down now.

She’d never complain seeing him completely bare in front of her. He was borderline perfect to her. “You’re more comfortable with the patch on, aren’t you? I like seeing all of you. I’ll be happy with whatever makes you comfortable.” Maybe she was prying with her first question, but she was curious. Her curiosity often got the best of her. She waited for him to settle in the bath and she turned to face him. Lily’s head dipped down to rested in the crook of his neck. “The easier the access, the better,” she teased, pressing a kiss to his neck before pulling away to face him. “I like you,” she commented, a grin tugging at the corners of her lips. “I like this. I like spending time with you.” She reached for his hand, intertwining her fingers with his. “It’s like a safe place all the way out here. I’d never leave.”

“Yes, I am much more comfortable with it on.” Especially around other people, but Mikhail didn’t want to say that and end up breaking the magic that was today. He didn’t want to read into it and pretend this was something more than it was, because he didn’t know what it was, but he wouldn’t lie and say he would prefer to be alone right now. In fact, he didn’t think there was a person in the world that would say something like that. “Why does that not surprise me?” He laughed but grabbed her hips gently as they kissed. Mikhail had half a mind to remind himself that this was technically wrong, but he didn’t want to stop. “I like spending time with you as well, but I agree, and it’s why I moved so far out to nowhere. It’s a unique place and nobody would come here. Even if it isn’t actually safer, it feels that way to me.”

Arlo wasn’t sure whether the sound of Mikhail’s laughter was calming, or a reason to be more nervous. It felt good to know his mentor wasn’t scared, wasn’t dreading what was about to take place. Maybe he should take comfort in that level of confidence. “Oh…” He said quietly, feeling a little ridiculous for misunderstanding. He knew it wasn’t really embarrassing given his current state, understandable even. But he hated being unable to maintain his composure. At the mention of his nervousness, his cheeks grew hot. “I- I wouldn’t know how to do that either.” He admitted, offering Mik a shy smile. Think of James. He told himself. James had a way of making him feel stable like nothing else. With James by his side, he could do anything. Swallowing, imagining his boyfriend holding his hand, the pounding in his chest seemed to lessen. “Okay…” He murmured. “I- I think I’m ready.”

Mikhail could sense Arlo’s anxiety from across the room and they hadn’t even started yet. It lead him to believe this might be a little bit harder than he expected. At least for Arlo. If the man was coming to learn how to protect his mind, then there was something he didn’t want found out, and Mikhail almost felt a little bad because he was about to find all of it out. “It’s easier and harder than it sounds, which I know is not reassuring, but if you think too hard about it, you will end up overthinking it and that is just as bad as letting your mind wander.” Mikhail fell silent after his explanation, allowing Arlo a moment to himself. If it didn’t work, then he would offer to find a way to help, but Arlo was going to be completely on his own at some point, so why not start learning how to deal with it now. “I will attempt to penetrate your mind and memories, build a wall around them and do not let me in,” he took a deep breath, “Legilimens.”