#post!hogwarts

Koldovstoretz AU

During the events of HL, the existence of wizards in the Russian Empire was not a secret to the Emperor and his highest generals. He assembled an elite unit of battle mages from among them, which served as the army’s secret weapon. By an official decree, he ordered that every child who showed magical ability must be sent to the special Koldovstoretz school. Upon graduation, the only path available to such a student led to the battlefield.

Compliance with the decree was enforced by other wizards who were regarded as the Emperor’s chained hounds. They had traded their gift for the illusion of freedom. Those who disobeyed were eliminated without delay.

In his HL origin story set in 1905, Svyatoslav lives in a coven with six witches who hide in the deep wilderness to escape persecution, since they refuse to use magic in service of warfare. The witches try to shield Svyatoslav from being sent to Koldovstoretz. Therefore, when Ms. Hall arrives with an invitation to take him to Hogwarts, they agree without hesitation.

Svyatoslav returns home only after the 1917 Revolution. He finds that the Muggles who overthrew the Emperor now hunt wizards as well, believing old rumors that wizards served him personally. Even if bullets are powerless against magic, one shot out of hundreds may still accidentally hit a distracted wizard surrounded by an enraged crowd.

I have a fanservice arc in which every suspicious person is searched for a wand. Svyatoslav and his wife, pretending to be Muggles, temporarily trade their wands for revolvers and move stylishly between secret cellars that shelter wizards, hiding from place to place.

It is not exactly an AU, rather a detail of his HL lore. I sometimes wondered what would have happened to Slavik if he had gone to Koldovstoretz instead of Hogwarts, so I created these screenshots to see what it could look like.

But I still wanted to develop this idea about another side of the wizarding world, so I assigned this small subplot to Vasilisa — one the forest witches. After Svyatoslav leaves for England, imperial hounds find the coven’s hut. To protect her family, she surrenders and, against her will and ideals, joins the army.

In my crack fantasies she eventually rises to the Emperor’s personal guard, steals his phoenix, and escapes by ship to England to find Svyatoslav. There she is suddenly detained by the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures and ends up in a holding cell. Through the bars of her cell she endures interrogations with an extremely pedantic ministry clerk who adjusts his glasses with his middle finger. The narrative gradually becomes my favorite love-hate dynamic between a rule-bound man and a wild woman.

Btw, a Pygmy Puff lives in his pocket. And it gets along perfectly well with the Emperor’s phoenix.

I have never drawn these two characters or visualized them in any way, but at least I have a board for Vasilisa, and I hope that one day I will have one for her tedious English gentleman as well.

And, of course, I already have a board for Koldovstoretz too.

Life for Draco after Hogwarts was what he expected as soon as he took the Mark. His dreams of greatness and the wrecking ball he imagined the Malfoy name being for his future were discarded; they were simply too damaged to repair and were a "wrecking ball" in ways he did not like. Walls that he imagined himself breaking down to rebuild as his own were broken but strengthened to keep him out. Draco wished he could say it was unfair but he knew the outside world had done nothing wrong. It was all due to his own faults.

So he did what they had all wanted him to do, he killed himself. Draco Lucius Malfoy was dead, buried with his mother and father and left to decay in Malfoy Manor. His crimes were not forgotten and he watched from afar as they brutally battered what they perceived as his corpse. He had moved away from pureblood society, stole a drunkard's wand, cast Disillusionments over every recognizable part of himself, abandoned his family's inheritance, and went to live in Muggle London where none would recognize him. He barely recognized himself.

He lived in a small flat which he shared with Spencer, a Muggle man he had obliviated into thinking he was there all along. His once striking, pale blond hair was now a plain, dull brown. His cold, grey eyes turned to a light, honeyed brown. He had cast glamours over his scars with ease, grateful for the blank slate he appeared to be. He was Deacon, a young man who worked as a bartender in the smallest, smelliest pub a couple blocks down.

Draco liked life as Deacon. No one gave him a second glance out of fear or disgust but sometimes out of attraction. He was normal. He didn't worry about the Golden Trio, the responsibilities his parents has placed on his shoulders, Voldemort's daily torturings. He could just be. And that was something he had never experienced before. As time went on and the fear of being discovered faded, Draco spent longer and longer in his glamours and disillusionments having become obsessed with the euphoria he associated with Deacon.

He was on his way to work, walking and humming a tune he had heard Spencer playing on his drums earlier.

Everlong, was it?

He had discovered within days of living in Muggle London that their music was exciting and brilliant. He hadn't known how advanced Muggles happened to be until he was surrounded by them. The telly was one of the first things he became enraptured by.

He pushed through the pub doors, flashing a smile to his friend, Sally, who worked the shift before him.

"Sally."

"What's up, Deek!"

He winced, finding the name she had given him on his first day still irritating. He looked around at the surprisingly crowded bar and leaned on the counter to talk over the blasting music.

"Is there an event tonight I didn't know about?"

The girl shook her head before pointing at something over Draco's shoulder.

"I think it's a party for birthday boy over there!"

Draco turned his head curiously over his shoulder. His back immediately straightened and his eyes widened.

The birthday boy was gorgeous. He stood on top of a chair dancing sensually to the song playing over the speakers. His hips moved side to side and his hair framed his face beautifully as he moved to the beat. He sang along to the lyrics loudly with great feeling that if Draco had not heard the accompanying music, he would have thought the boy had wrote it.

"NO! I DON'T WANT NO SCRUB! A SCRUB IS A GUY THAT CAN'T GET NO LOVE FROM ME. HANGING OUT THE PASSENGER SIDE OF HIS BEST FRIEND'S RIDE. TRYIN TO HOLLA AT ME!"

Draco smiled, watching and enjoying the show he was putting on. He bit his lip as the boy, or man rather judging by the giant headband he wore on his head with the number 20, dipped low and his low-rise jeans revealed an emerald g-string with a bow. Draco looked away, swallowing, as he turned back to Sally, who was grinning at him.

Draco rolled his eyes at her childish behavior.

"He's single, I overheard his friends when they came to get a drink. Apparently, he's looking for a man to go home with tonight."

Draco looked back at the man, who had gotten off the chair and was now giggling with his friends.

"Good for him."

He cleared his throat.

"I'm gonna put my things away. Don't do anything stupid while I'm gone."

"Oh no! But, Deacon! How will I manage when you're my only brain!"

"Shut it, you witch."

"I'm not a witch! They aren't real!"

Draco smirked as he walked away.

☆

Hannah Abbot: The Perfect @oh-dont-worry-honey Alice Longbottom: @askatruegryffindor

St. Mungos Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries.

Fourth floor, Spell Damage, Janus Thickey Ward.

A Healer recognizes Hannah Abbot and calls out warmly, “Mrs. Longbottom, over here,” waving her over.

Healer: Sorry, love. When’s the wedding?

Hannah: Just 12 more days.

They are broken from their conversation by a loud scream, both jumping as they turn to see Alice Longbottom as the source. Just as soon as it began, it stops, though she is now quietly whimpering, her husband asleep on the bed next to her.

The Healer gives a sad look at Alice before turning back to Hannah.

Healer: Are you sure you’re ready?

Hannah: She is going to be my mother so... 

... no time like the present.

The Healer leads Hannah over to the shaking woman, pulling up a chair for Hannah to sit beside the bed before sliding back.

Alice gives no sign that she heard anything, still glancing around as she shakes, eyes unfocused.

One of the most important commissions for me was done by Llumora and I’m absolutely in love with it.

I gave her a very rough outfit sketch with a bunch of references, and with remarkable care and professionalism she managed to bring to life every tiny detail of the design I’d imagined for adult Violet.

The upper part of the outfit is a black-and-white version of her school uniform. I wrote here about the reason why I chose these particular colors.

The tall boots are inspired by the Debonair Ensemble outfit from HL, though it always annoyed me that they were so tight-fitting.

The wand is taken from Harry Potter: Magic Awakened.

The braid comes from my BG3 playthrough as V. I decided that two braids would look too childish on a grown woman, while a strict Victorian updo would be way too tame for someone this wild.

Week №2; Part №2 — Future career

Right after graduating from school, V cuts all ties with everyone she loves and disappears without a trace.

For the first ten years, the modest fortune of her Muggle family allows her to travel from country to country, never staying long in one place in a restless attempt to escape both justice and her own past.

During these travels, she explores the most remote corners of the world and ancient ruins, seeking out places where traces of ancient magic still remain. On one such journey, Violet discovers a child much like herself — a user of the ancient magic, Svyatoslav. She takes him under her care, and after a period of preparation and training, sends him to Hogwarts to join the fifth year.

When the ten long years of wandering finally came to an end, she legally returned to British Isles and, with all the knowledge she had gained, took the position that once belonged to Professor Fig — professor of the Theory of Magic.

Drawn in December 2024.