Clear waters, Stormy thoughts (open)

[Victoria Rossmund]

Victoria threw her backpack onto the shore and plunged her face into the lake. The day was warm, but the lake still held the chill from the early morning. She dug into her pack for one of her water bottles, checking her cell phone for any missed calls. Her parents allowed her to go hiking alone, so long as she texted them every half hour. Still alive , she wrote, and put it away.

She had been worried about coming to Germany from the moment she'd received her parents owl, but it was turning out better than she could have hoped. Her relationship with Kathleen was stronger, due to their vacation last summer, and this trip allowed her time to get back into nature with her father. Unfortunately her mother was as distant as usual. Oh well. Can't have it all.

The best part, though, was that Victoria hadn't had any run ins with evil wizards or witches. She still kept her secret weapon on hand, just in case. And she wrote to Tess often, so her best friend wouldn't worry. Or mount a nation wide search for her body. Victoria chuckled at the possibility. She could do it, too!

Looking around, she wondered how a group of witches or wizards could turn out evil in such a beautiful place. She started questioning what it would be like to meet one of them. Though she was too afraid to even pull out her wand, for fear of being found. She laid back in the grass and closed her eyes, taking a few minutes to rest before continuing her hike.

[Felix Engell]

Felix groaned as his mum called for him again. He really didn't want to hang around with her and have a picnic with her and dad. Sure, he would admit that the place they ate at was beautiful but he was embarrassed to be seen with his family. "Felix!" She suddenly screamed as he ignored her and continued to stare at the water, and with an annoyed huff he stalked over to her. She smiled up at him sweetly, as if she wasn't the most annoying woman in the entire world. "Have a seat love, would you like something to eat?" She asked in Russian as she gestured to the food before them. Felix took one look at his mother's smiling face and his father's warning look, but he didn't care. He didn't feel like hanging out with his parents today.

"No, I wouldn't, mum." He responded haughtily, and his mothers face contorted into an angered look and she looked as if she was going to yell, but Felix had already vanished amidst the trees. He could hear his mothers angered calls, but he ignored her as he continued through. He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and he pulled it out to check, seeing he had a message from his friend back in Germany, asking how Durmstrang was. He texted back 'Boring as batshit, hows school for you?' before he sent it off and sighed. He was so busy staring at his feet he didn't notice a branch, and he walked straight into it. "Merlin's sa-" he toppled down a hill and crashed at the bottom, twigs sticking in his hair. He pulled them out and stood up, brushing himself off only to see that he'd landed near a girl.

He blinked as he looked at her and stood up quickly, his face red before he managed to calm himself with a few breaths and glanced at her once more. She was gorgeous, with lovely brown locks of hair that shimmered lightly in the sun, and beautiful eyes that made his heart leap into his throat. He squashed these feelings and felt even more embarrassed, and confused. "Hello," he greeted her.

[Victoria Rossmund]

Victoria had almost drifted off to sleep when she heard someone crashing through the trees and an alarming rate. She couldn't believe what she was seeing as a boy came rolling down the hill, landing in an unbecoming heap at the bottom. She tried to suppress a laugh when he tried to straighten himself up, until he looked at her.

She wouldn't have been surprised if she had a blush to match his. She was used to book worms and scrawny boys back at school, but this one looked as if he knew his was around the outdoors. This intrigued her more than anything. On top of it all he looked flustered as hell, which would have been comical if he wasn't looking at her so strangely.

"Well hi. You sure know how to make an entrance." Victoria smiled, trying to make him feel more at ease. In truth, she was surprised to see anyone out here.

[Vladimir Wazowski]

Vladimir was walking along the lakeside and he was wondering to himself if there was something that he could do to occupy his mind, lately it had become even more troubled and even more tumultous as he believed that things were getting worse and worse as his memories seemed to draw further and further away from him.

Frowning he kicked a loose stone that was near to his foot as he walked through the silent area, but, he stopped as he thought he heard voices as he drew nearer to the lake itself and saw a few people there, heart hammering slightly, Vlad was nervous to go near them in case they were going to shun him.

With a hum, Vladimir walked slowly towards them and he waved awkwardly; "Uhm hello there, would you mind if I took a seat next to you? After all, company is better than being alone."

Hoping that they would say it was alright, Vladimir had another flash of memory run through his mind and he found himself sitting down in a stupor, blinking wildly.

[Victoria Rossmund]

Victoria was surprised to see another boy walking around here on his own. Maybe parents in Germany didn't care as much as hers? Or maybe they just trusted their children. She mentally shrugged and smiled at the boy approaching.

She knew she should be worried now that there were two of them and one of her, but she wasn't going to let that ruin her day. She was always looking for adventure anyways, why balk at a chance to make friends?

Just as she was about to welcome the boy, something seemed to be wrong. She lightly touched his shoulder, "Are you ok?" She looked back at the first boy, I need to learn their names, and gave him a look of 'What's going on?'

[Vladimir Wazowski]

Vladimir blinked rapidly and he shook his head to try and lose the sense of dizziness that envaloped him, the memory vanished and it was something that he hoped would eventually stop although, like he kept thinking, it was getting worse and worse each time it happened, it took him away from reality for longer.

Jumping slightly at the touch to his shoulder Vlad turned to the girl and smiled lightly at her, nodding his head with an embarrassed smirk on his lips. It was going to become very awkward if this kept happening while he was in public places, people might think that he was some sort of mental case or something like that.

"Ah yes I'm fine, I was just a little dizzy for a moment, I'm Vlad, who are you?" he asked, flicking his eyes between the girl and the other boy.

[Victoria Rossmund]

Victoria kept her smile, it was a usual state for her, though it was always genuine. She held her had out, "Pleased to meet you. My name is Victoria, and we've only just met as well." She indicated the other boy who seemed to be keeping quiet.

It occurred to her, noticing their accents, that she must sound funny to them. She just assumed they were from here, never really knowing any Germans personally. Luckily her American accent might fool them into thinking she was just an ordinary muggle if they were magic. Nothing had given anything away as far as their magical status, but now that she was more accustomed to the magical world, it wasn't far from her thoughts.

Deciding to be bold, she asked, "Are you guys from around here?" She grabbed her backpack and found some apples she'd packed, motioning to the boys 'would you like one?'

[Vladimir Wazowski]

Vladimir was a little intrigued by the girls accent and he realised that he had never heard one like it before, or at least he didn't recall after the accident hearing one, perhaps it was from somewhere that he had not really been to, and he wanted to ask but thought that it might be a little rude so stopped before he could get himself into trouble.

With a small smile Vlad nodded at Victoria;

"It's a pleasure to meet you Victoria, ah I see, I'm glad that I am not interrupting anything I would hate to be rude or anything..." he smiled sheepishly before taking one of the apples that Victora gestured for him to take, it was very nice of her and unusually kind for someone that he had only just met.

After all the last person he had met pulled her wand out on him. Not cool.

"I think I am...I probably am, I go to school here after all." he grinned "You?"

[Victoria Rossmund]

Victoria bit her lip in indecision. She wasn't sure what to tell Vlad about herself. She didn't know if he was a young wizard, or just a muggle. But she figured she wasn't going to let fear rule her life. If it came to fighting so be it.

"I'm originally from America. But my parents moved me to London two years ago to be closer to my sister. She's going to school there." She looked over at the other boy, but shrugged, seeing that he was content sitting by himself.

She was surprised at Vlad's insinuation that he would be interrupting anything. Though, thinking back on all the other students at school, it really shouldn't surprise her. Just because she'd never had romantic rendezvous' with boys didn't mean others didn't. When she tried to think of what Vlad might have thought she could feel her cheeks reddening.

Trying to change the subject she threw a thin rock into the lake, watching it skip across the top. "If you don't mind me asking...why did you say 'I think'?" She hadn't really thought about it at first, but it was rather strange. Maybe a translation thing?

[Vladimir Wazowski]

Vladmir smiled happily when Victoria said that she was from America, everything made sense now, he had not spent much time in the States at all, so it would make sense that he didn't know or remember the accent, thinking on it, he thought that he hadn't spent much time in America...but had he?

Frowning lightly he snapped out of his thoughts with a happy smile;

"I see! Well I have never been, or at least I don't remember being to America, how is it there? I imagine that it is a lot hotter than here? And probably a lot more exciting too huh? Although, from what I remember, London is a nice place, very busy." he added.

Seeing that Victoria was blushing a little, Vlad blushed too, he hadn't meant it like that, after all, they were only around the same age, and he hadn't had a girlfriend yet.

"I got into an accident, I drowned, and all my memories got wiped, so I don't know much about specifics in the past." he explained with a smile.

[Victoria Rossmund]

Victoria nodded when Vlad mentioned the weather in America. That was the biggest thing she missed. North Carolina especially had her favorite weather. It was wonderfully dry to the point where you could feel the water evaporating off your skin after a dip in the lake. She stared longingly at the lake in front of them. I'd probably just spend the next few hours soaked.

When he mentioned the accident her hand flew to her mouth in shock. "You actually drowned? How! How did you survive!" She couldn't imagine it. She wondered how he could sit so calmly by the lake. But then...maybe he didn't really remember the actual drowning.

The final part of what he said sunk in. That he couldn't remember things. Her mind automatically turned to her family. Tess, who she couldn't imagine school without. And Luke. Even though she was feeling like they were growing apart, she still would miss him. Her heart suddenly hurt for Vlad, not really having memories.

[Vladimir Wazowski]

Vlad jumped a little when Victoria seemed tobe very shocked by what he said, and he was touched that a stranger would care so much about what had happened to him, it made him feel good about himself, and more than happy to share all the information that he could with her, because she seemed so nice and personable.

"Well, I was told that a mermaid dragged me under the lake at Durmstrang, and I drowned while I was under the water, but then she returned me to the surface because someone saw what she ahd done and demanded that she return me."

At that he smiled, the memory of his first friend, Yeva.

[Victoria Rossmund]

Victoria had been about to grab her phone to text her parents again when she heard the words 'mermaid' and 'Durmstrang'. She immediately still and stared at him. She didn't even really know him but it felt like someone was squeezing her heart.

She thought she'd be scared if she ever met a Durmstrang student. She figured she'd be able to tell that they were from that school by obvious evilness, kind of like a nightmare villain. Vlad was nothing like that. He seemed nice, and he was very open. He wasn't hard on the eyes either, with wonderfully warm brown eyes and the appearance of someone who liked to stay active.

Trying to relax, she figured she'd get it out in the open before she got in over her head. "I have to be honest with you Vlad. I'm...I'm from Hogwarts." She put her hand back in her bag, ready to bolt and hide if need be. But she hoped...What? That he'll be a NICE evil wizard?...Idiot.

[Vladimir Wazowski]

Vladimir thought at first that Victoria was getting frightened because of what he had said about mermaids and the fact that they were sat around a lake, but, when he saw that she was reaching for her phone he became a little more curious, and wondered what had happened to make her feel so bad like this.

When he found out what the problem was, he calmed down and smiled happily, even laughing a little bit to himself, and was glad that it wasn't anything big, or something that meant that they would be in danger, like there was a dragon or something behind him.

"That sounds like an interesting place, you live in England then? It's hard not for me to know where that is, everyone goes on about it, but...I see no point in carrying grudges, I don't even know what this war is about." he smiled "You're the second person from that school I've met." he grinned.

[Victoria Rossmund]

Victoria let out the breath that she'd been holding. At first she was confused by Vlad's reaction, but then she couldn't help smiling when he laughed. He has a nice laugh... She shook her head to clear those thoughts. They were coming more and more as she sat here, and she wasn't quite sure why. It was like her mind and body were separate from herself, out of her control.

The more she thought about what he'd said, the more frustrated she got. "You're right! Who even knows how this stupid war got started! I'm muggle born, so I certainly don't. All I know of it is that at the end of my first year a bunch of German teachers and the Headmaster attacked us during a ball."

It was a very good point. Why was she afraid of these witches and wizards? Because the adults at Hogwarts were. But why were they? So many questions that she needed answered.

She set those aside and focused on the boy in front of her. "So...you obviously remember some things, like where you go to school. What else do you remember? Can you still do magic?" Her curiosity was winning. She turned over to lay on her stomach, plucky some nearby flowers and making a small bracelet out of them.

[Vladimir Wazowski]

Vladimir smiled happily when Victoria seemed to relax, after all, he didn't want to make her on edge, and he was very glad that she hadn't pulled her wand out on him and tried to hex him into oblivion or something like that, the last girl he had met in the pet shop had attempted to do something like that, or maybe she was just trying to scare him a little bit and get him to go away.

Frowning a little bit, Vlad was not happy to hear this his people had attacked a school, what harm would a lot of children do to them? It made no sense that they would bare their blood lust down on them, instead of taking it up with the adults, like they should do.

"That makes no sense to me, children like us have nothing to do with this, why would they attack a school full of them? I highly doubt that you have done anything wrong, or attacked any of our people, that was undeserved." he sighed frustratedly "I'm sorry that you had to see that...it must have been awful."

Smiling and trying to get himself less frustrated, Vlad grinned and thought about what he actually could remember; "Yes I can remember how to do magic, thankfully it wans't that bad a memoruy loss, but I can't remember much else, family, where I came from, all gone...I get flashes but ah...nothing more." he smiled gently.

[Victoria Rossmund]

Victoria let her mind get lost for a minute in the memories of that night. Up until that point she'd never really realized how dangerous the magical world could be. She couldn't recall off hand any deaths or severe injuries except for one girl that Tess and her had helped get her sister into the safe room. The sister had gone into a coma and Victoria hadn't seen her sense. While she had gone into shock at some point, the whole event had gained her a best friend. So it wasn't a totally terrible night.

Shaking herself back into the present she finished the bracelet and looked it over for weaknesses. "Hmm...that's interesting. Any idea what you're going to do to get them back?"

She decided to go out on a limb. Taking his hand she tied the bracelet around his wrist and smiled at him. It wasn't an overtly feminine one, mostly grass and leaves, with very small white flowers.

[Vladimir Wazowski]

Vlad smiled lightly, and decided that he had best leave Victoria to her memories when she seemed to go off on a tangent for a little while, he didn't mind, instead he just looked at the lake lapping against the shore and it made him relax again and forget the pressure that he was feeling against his head, as if his old memories were screaming at him to remember them.

Seeing that she had finished the bracelet, Vlad grinned lightly; "That's a pretty bracelet, I don't think I would be very good at doing them, too fiddly for me."

When she asked him what he was going to do to get his memories back, Vlad shrugged his shoulders, that was something that he had often wondered but he had never come to a conclusion on the matter himself, he just didn't know how;

"I don't know, I don't know how I would even start." he sighed, frowning, but his face lightened when he was given the bracelet; "For me? Thanks." he grinned.

[Victoria Rossmund]

Victoria blushed when he seemed to like the bracelet. It was one of her little hobbies back home in Raleigh and never wanted the ability to make them.

She reached over into her bag for her phone, remembering that she hadn't texted her parents in a while. "Well, hopefully you find answers soon. It can't be fun walking around without a past or people you know." Looking down she saw that her parents wanted her back at their picnic sight, they wanted to head back to the hotel.

She stood up and started gathering her things. "It was really nice meeting you. Maybe we could write sometime. I don't really have many close friends at school and it would be nice to have another one." She smiled at him, hoping he would. As her phone buzzed again, signaling another message, she quickly hugged him turn to walk back to the sight.

[Vladimir Wazowski]

Vlad nodded his head slightly indeed it was not fun, he dreaded meeting someone that he had known in his past and he didn;t know any more, it would just be so so embarrassing and confusing for him. Seeing that she seemed to be blushing rather a lot Vlad grinned a little bit and made a note of what she looked like when she did.

"I hope that I find something out soon too, I'll have a look in the Archives in Durmstrang, they will be sure to have something there."

When it turned out that Victoria was going to go back to her parents Vlad opened his mouth a little bit to try and persuade her to stay, but he didn't want to get her into trouble, so he merely nodded his head and stood up from the grass where they were sat.

"That would be lovely, I hope that we meet some time in the future." he smiled lightly "Be safe." he added as she began to walk away, worried that she might be hurt in the crossfire of some battle somewhere.

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