The drumstrang ship

Saturn flashed into the drumstrang ship with a letter and a potion.

((will reveal what the contents are when he gets there))

((After Kazimir speaks to HM Lasharna, post-Astronomy Tower Duel))


Kazimir fumbled with the knob of the door leading into the lower decks of his ship. Well, really it was the ship all the Durmstrang Headmasters used but with all the years he had in the position it felt more like his rather than anyone else's.

A few of the Durmstrang students who remained aboard, and were throwing a party of sorts, jumped up from their chairs when he entered. One or two fell off their seats, apparently having gotten a little too much far into the wine stores. "Headmaster!" came the resounding cry of surprise, but Boris Kaminski was the only one with enough guts to actually approach and risk the old man's temper.

"Vot happened?" Boris inquired, though regretted so instantly: he might be injured, but Kazimir had a terrible mastery of the Stinging Hex.

"Vot do you think happened, you imbecile?!" Kazimir veritably shrieked at Boris and the rest of the lot. Yes, this was how the man spoke to his prized pupil at such a time. Boris opened his mouth to speak when Kazimir reverted into the Russian language to recount everything that had happened.

"Now," Kazimir huffed, in English, boring his beady black eyes into Boris' brown ones, "I vant you to go up to the tower and retrieve my vands. Speak only as much as you have to, and nothing more. Ve don't need any more trouble from the Ministry..."

Boris nodded, bowed slightly, and scurried off to do his Head's bidding. Kazimir surveyed the rest of the boys with a barely-contained look of disgust. "The rest of you - clean up this mess! No vone is to go to bed until it is returned to the vay it vos... vithout magic!" he commanded, and headed for his personal cabin.

Once the door closed with a quiet thump, Kazimir finally allowed the shaking - a side-effect from the Cruciatus Curse - to run its course. For being a bit up there in years the Russian had an exceptional pain threshold and could hide discomfort remarkably well. However, had he had to endure the facade any longer, Kazimir doubted he would have managed.

Finally noticing the bird, and the fact that it bore a note and a potion, Kazimir regarded the creature with a particular countenance of displeasure. "Vot?!" he asked it gruffly, trying to quell the shaking of his hands as he reached for the letter.

The letter unfolded and Kiara voice could be heard from the page.

“Headmaster Kazimir,

To show how against the curicatus I am, the potion next to my pheonix will help with the after effects.

However if you ever harm a member of my staff in a unathurised or un provoked attack again you will not enjoy the concqueses of it let me assure you.

Stay away from Professor Sevastyan Kaminski, is that clear? and I will know if you go behind my back and attack him again. Trust me I have my ways.....

Goodnight Headmaster Kazimir
Headmistress Kiara Alexandra Lestrange Riddle"

Kazimir’s facial expressions and thought patterns changed practically with each part of the letter:

”Headmaster Kazimir,

“Vot?!?” Kazimir’s mind-voice demanded of the letter as it continued on without his prodding:

“To show how against the curicatus I am, the potion next to my pheonix will help with the after effects.

The Durmstrang Headmaster’s facial expression soured despite the diplomatic gesture. “Vell, then, vy vos it cast on me? And vich vone of you cast it?!” That fact plagued his mind ever since he’d left the tower. At first he’d thought that other woman – he didn’t know her name and didn’t see much of her face – had placed the curse on him. The wording of Kiara’s letter made Kazimir re-think that assessment. “I vill take the potion after you leave,” he muttered darkly to the phoenix, clearly a bit disgruntled at the assistance: Kazimir tended to consider himself self-sufficient and didn’t much enjoy asking help of others:

“However if you ever harm a member of my staff in a unathurised or un provoked attack again you will not enjoy the concqueses of it let me assure you.”

Though the teenage years had long since left him, Kazimir allowed a massive eyeroll slide onto his countenance as his scowl deepened. “You’re bluffing!” he mentally fumed...:

“Stay away from Professor Sevastyan Kaminski, is that clear? and I will know if you go behind my back and attack him again. Trust me I have my ways.....”

Initially, the headmaster’s eyes sharpened upon hearing the name. “That vould be easier said than done, since he vorks here!” his mind wanted so badly for him to shout such a thing at the Headmistress. However, at the threat – or rather the perceived threat – of knowing what his every move would be from here on out rather unnerved him, and it showed as he glanced with paranoia around his cabin.

He’d almost jumped and actually bade the other Headmistress a good night out of automatic courtesy, but stopped himself in realization that the letter was actually responsible. As her signature began to be recited, Kazimir folded up the letter and quickly uncorked and tipped the contents of the potion phial into his mouth...

...Lestrange Riddle...

Pausing like a deer caught in headlights and nearly choking on the potion he’d just taken, Headmaster Orlov unfolded the letter to make sure his ears were not playing tricks on him. Indeed, it did read the name ‘Lestrange’ as one of her surnames. Did that mean she was somehow related to Daniel? It was most likely she had married him, because Kazimir had gone to great lengths to get to know his favorite pupils’ families.

Immediately, the cunning ingenuity of his mind began coming up with various scenarios. The most recurring one was that there was something going on behind the scenes involving Sevastyan and Kiara... there was only one way he could think of that she would know if the other man were attacked, and that was if she was right there with him. It didn’t seem likely that Sevastyan would accept a talisman of some sort to allow any of them to come running should he be ambushed again.

Little did he know, as he lay upon the luxurious cot within his cabin and began to drift into sleep, just how wrong he was on that first assumption...


((Yeah, "Cashmere" is one of those kind of people... just like the lawyer in the Ministry thread! Lol... poor Kiara & Sevastyan... xD))

((The morning after... ^_^ Sorry to double-post...))

Kazimir winced at the loud knocks being administered upon the door to his cabin, the sound startling him and only making his headache worse. With a groan and a rather nasty scowl on his face, Kazimir sat up from his cot and made his way toward the door. ’This had better be good...’

“Войдите в!” he shouted rather grouchily, bidding whoever was on the other side to enter.

Boris Kaminski entered with a smirk on his face... a smirk of triumph, from what Kazimir had been able to learn of this lad. For the kid’s sake, this had best not be a poker face used to hide a horrible hand...

“Vot?! Get on vith it!” Kazimir commanded, having little time or patience for games.

The smirk was instantly wiped off Boris’s face. “I have your vands, Headmaster,” he replied instantly and held them out to the older wizard with a bow. The seventeen-year-old practically jumped when Kazimir snatched them from his hand.

“Vy did you not bring them immediately aftervard?!” Kazimir demanded, aiming his secondary wand at the youth.

“I vos told you vere sleeping. Apparently Stanislav vent to ask you a qvestion about vot had happened, and you didn’t answer,” Boris explained, bracing himself for an attack.

“Very vell. And vot else? You vouldn’t dare present that smirk to me if there vosn’t something else you vanted,” Kazimir huffed, more than a little annoyed.

“I noticed something you should be avare of... you know the vomen that vent to help my cousin?”

Kazimir nodded dangerously, a clear sign that he’d better get to the point and fast. “The vone furthest from him vos the Headmistress. I do not know who the other voman is.”

“Vell, ven I vent to the tower for you, I noticed my cousin and this other voman holding hands. And I do not believe it vos the injuries that made the grip gentle,” Boris revealed, quirking his eyebrow as if to ask if Kazimir had noticed this.

Kazimir’s eyes turned rather pensive, widening slightly. Then, the corners of his own mouth twisted into a rather satisfied smile. “So that is vot he is doing... vould you believe the Headmistress is ordering me to stay avay from your cousin, and that she vould know if anything happens to him? Tell me... vith your youthful visdom... vot you think this all means?”

Boris’s eyes widened slightly at the news, but instead of revealing his thoughts displayed a grin that seemed all too clear to project the thoughts he was having.

“I thought so. You have done vell, Boris. Dismissed; I vill be paying a visit to each of these... ladies... before too long,” Kazimir smirked with a distinct air of satisfaction. He had no doubts that Boris would confront Sevastyan sooner or later as well. Time to create some tension within the triangle...


((Uh-oh... these two are jumping to entirely the wrong conclusions...lol))

((red italics for Russian... green italics for German... as I'm too lazy to use an online translator right now, lol. xD))


Boris returned to the Durmstrang ship with a distinct air of confidence. If what he'd managed to learn before being interrupted while down at the dungeons was any indication, his cousin was definitely involved in the romantic sense with at least one of his colleagues.

Kazimir was waiting by the time his favored student reached the cabin. "Tell me everything that happened..." he demanded before Boris could so much as say 'Hello' in any of the languages he knew.........................................


((About a Month Later... Early Afternoon))

After hearing about the untimely demise of Dmitri Miroslavich Kaminski, one of his second cousins, Sevastyan was an internal mess of emotions. He had shed enough tears upon Amaranth's shoulder so as to show he was grieving but not so many as to appear too defeated by the loss. The Russian wizard had been close to this relation, what having tutored him and his brothers - Boris and Nestor - over the summer holidays and having gotten to know them.

Dmitri was a year younger than Sevastyan's own brother...

So it was with a burdened heart that it became Sevastyan's job to inform Boris of this death. Already, the wizard had a bad feeling that this would not go over well... But there was really no other person appropriate for the job. He had no idea how the teen was going to react to this news. In a way, Sevastyan wished he did know. But yet, if he did, and knew this would turn out badly... well, he would still be out here in the snow, gazing up at the bow of the ship.

Squinting against the blinding sunlight reflecting off the snow, Sevastyan spied a young man on deck and called up to him in Russian. "Vould you please fetch Boris Kaminski for me? I have urgent news!" he called.

"Very little Russian. German, please?" asked the young man, who looked just as confused as he sounded.

"My mistake. Could you please fetch Boris Kaminski for me? I have urgent news for him," Sevastyan repeated. The young man comprehended instantly, nodded, and disappeared below deck. Sevastyan waited several minutes before he once again heard human footfalls upon wood. Glancing up again, he noticed Boris stood there, waiting to hear what it was he had to say.

"Even though you are still recovering, it vould be best if you could meet me down here... Sevastyan told the teen. Almost as he'd said it, a plank extended from the deck to the snow-covered ground for Boris to walk down. "And you might vant to sit down..."

"Vot are you talking about?" Boris asked stiffly, his healing leg flaring with pain.

"Your brother - Dmitri - died today... I have come on behalf of your father to deliver this news," Sevastyan answered, knowing that Boris would not sit after hearing him say something like that in response to his advice.

"You lie! Vot proof do you have?!" Boris spat angrily. He was in shock, of course: Sevastyan could see it in the wide brown, nearly black eyes.

"Your father provided me vith a memory of the body's... condition, ven your great-uncle found him," Sevastyan answered sadly. Knowing the lad would not believe until he seen, the Defense Professor conjured a basin and withdrew the memory, placing it into the large bowl. Sevastyan then held the container out to Boris, and encouraged him to go ahead and view the memory.

Several minutes passed before Boris emerged with a horrified, ashen countenance. Sevastyan immediately felt bad for having to show his cousin such a graphic memory, but it was valid proof that he hadn't been lying. "Now, Boris... ve need to be extra careful vith these purgers on the loose. Ve come from a Dark Family. Please, for all our sakes, stay out of trouble..." Sevastyan lectured gently.

"I vant to go to the funeral." Boris stated flatly.

"You vill need to ask your Headmaster, not me. As you are a Champion, I'm not so sure you can leave. You vere selected, and that creates a binding magical contract..."

"I don't care - I'm going to my brother's funeral!" Boris snapped.

"Ve vill see vot ve can do. In the meanti-"

"I'M GOING VETHER THEY LIKE IT OR NOT!!!! NOW LEAVE ME ALONE!!!!!!!!!" Boris interrupted Sevastyan's somewhat gentle approach to the topic, not wanting words of comfort or pity. It didn't matter that the man was family: Boris wanted to be away from him, away from nearly everyone! Only a very few met his list of Presently Welcome Company... four close friends (with Nicolas Casillas's name right at the top) and a Headmaster, and that was it.

Thus, to escape the gazes of those he considered as 'prying eyes', Boris limped off to find a spot where he could be at least mostly alone with his thoughts.


'Vell... that could've gone better,' Sevastyan mused before going his own way.