Days of Lingering Summer

[Primavera Cardosi]

Primavera Cardosi felt at home within the walls of Durmstrang, she walked with pose and determination, holding her head high and finding it suited her to ooze of her superiority. Prim wasn't the kind of girl who took second best, she was all about the best things, she was all about being the most important, named after a season which was when all the nicest flowers bloomed she thought of herself as being like those flowers. Majestic, bold, and beautiful, Primavera definitely thought she was all those things. The late afternoon sun streamed in the windows of Durmstrang, giving the school a soft glow that if it wasn't so filled with dark wizards would almost make it nice. Prim was wandering the halls, her arms filled with useless books that would barely help her as she did her homework, such pointless work really, but she wanted to make her family proud, after all, Prim was a proud girl. The brunette brushed strands of her hair from her face and tucked them behind her ear, wondering down a different corridor, since she was actually searching for the one kind of place where she could do her homework in peace. The first years always thought they control everything, but the reality was that they were all brats. Least at Durmstrang they were usually more pure brats.

Primavera had never understood why Asa had returned to Hogwarts over this place, she couldn't understand why most of her cousins had decided that the better school was all the way in New Zealand. She herself having been raised by Collineus had never felt the need to leave for some pansy school on the other side of the world, where they let in the filth. She was proud of her school, proud of it's harsh qualities, proud of it's winters, proud of the way it produced many many dark wizards. She thought the world of her surrogate father, and knew her place was within these walls where she walked tall, she walked with purpose, with an expression of calm and coldness, she had always wanted to be a queen, and at the very least she could walk like she ruled an entire country. Finally, Prim reached exactly where she wanted, one of the quieter study halls, used for students in third and fourth year, and she took a quick seat in the corner of the room, where she could keep an eye on her surroundings like was the smart thing to do. Primavera put the books down, and reopened one at the right page, pushing the rest aside, inside she had her notebook and pen for notes, as much as she disliked muggles, she had always enjoyed pens, and because she saw herself as above others, her own superiority was the reason she could use such a good muggle invention, the only good thing to come out of muggle society. Prim chewed on her pen as she set about beginning her homework, feeling the warmth of the setting afternoon sun on her back as she worked.
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[Astaroth Zhefarovich]

The fact that Astaroth Zhefarovich was actually walking about without his twin brother was quite an unusual event. The two rarely separated, but Astaroth needed to walk along the corridors alone for a few, while Virgil decided to raise some hell. There were so many legacies of his family that walked the halls, and none more prouder than Asparuh Zhefarovich IV, his older half-brother. So far, Asparuh was the top duelist of his year, and was looking to advance further. Astaroth, on the other hand, looked to advance in his potions this time, and learn how to make a variety of poisons. So far, everything harmful he made was by sheer accident. None could kill, not so much as just melt a hole in his cauldron. He was sure that his father was in rage every time he needed a new cauldron. Which was what he was carrying as of the moment. In a large box, a cauldron rested in his arms. Astaroth looked about the grounds before he walked outside, with his coat wrapped around his shoulders and not on properly. He needed to be flexible with the heavy box that he was carrying. If it was one thing that he tend to notice, it was the students. Many thought that they were the bees knees just flaunting their connections about. Astaroth knew that his own had more.

'Pathetic worms,' thought Astaroth with a roll of his eyes. He entered the castle once more, through another door. He walked clear around the castle to avoid the crowd currently. He was aiming to go to the study hall to put his cauldron to use. The third year walked into the study room, and noticed that someone else was already in here. He set the cauldron down, before his mind remembered what in the world she was writing with. It was something he had never seen before, considering that he was raised in a pure-blood society. He also knew the girl from his classes. Cardosi. He knew that name well. His father worked with one of them, rather giving him something in exchange for a daughter for Asparuh the Fourth. He did not know what but he did know that the Cardosi's were a very rich, and very pure, family. "You don't mind if I am in here, do you?" asked Astaroth in the heavily accent laced voice. It was obvious his homeland was Bulgaria.​

 

[Primavera Cardosi]

The silence and tranquility of the study room was broken, when someone carrying a large box entered, Prim rolled her eyes, it was a pity that Durmstrang didn't make private study rooms so that people like herself, the highest caliber of students could study in peace. She rolled her eyes while still looking at her work, pen still in mouth, only glancing up briefly and then realised who this person was, or well, someone who was vaguely familiar to her. Primavera knew he was a Zhefarovich, they were more than a little infamous in these halls, but she knew that her own surname carried an equally heavy burden. Primavera's family were hardly poor, and the they were hardly dirty blooded. She had no interest in making friends with this boy in this moment, but she knew that she had to at the very least be nice to him for the sake of their families. Glancing back at her work, the third year removed the pen from her mouth and took a few notes on what she was writing and supposedly reading, though she'd been distracted by this boy's entrance into the study room, which she had wanted all to herself. Of course such a thing just wouldn't be possible, it was a school where she couldn't even be alone in her own bedroom, because despite her status, she had to share with others and her father seemed uninterested in giving money to the school that she might be able to get her own room.

The boy's words startled her slightly, but it was almost unnoticeable, as she glanced up at him and shrugged, she obviously did mind, she wanted to be alone, and the only reason a third year would need a new cauldron was if he had destroyed the one he'd had before and she didn't particularly want to have to study in a room where someone was making potions on a replacement for a previously destroyed cauldron, what if he destroyed this one with her in the room? She didn't want to get hurt, and she didn't want to ruin her hair, she didn't want to ruin her clothes, despite them just being the uniform, her was of course of the highest quality. Brushing her hair over one shoulder, the girl twirled the pen in her hand, "I guess it depends," she told him her own words heavily accented with an italian accent she didn't even bother to hide, "Are you going to be working quietly?" she asked him, her tone supposing superiority her surrogate father had always taught her to have, placing the pen in her mouth as she finished, waiting for him to reply, to tell her exactly what he intended to do, she didn't want to be too unkind to him, but Prim hardly wanted to end up having to visit the hospital just because this boy had set up in the same room as her. She kept her gaze on him, visibly sizing him up, blatant in what she was doing, this was a Zhefarovich, now just to see what he was like, if he held up to the reputation of his family in a small and innocent conversation.
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[Astaroth Zhefarovich]

The accent she carried was Italian, and that made him definitely know that she was not from this land. Astaroth looked over what he was going to do, and wondered if he was going to be quiet about it. He shrugged his shoulders, not really knowing. Astaroth set his cauldron down, and opened the box, before setting the heavy piece of metal onto a desk. He had a burner with him, thankfully. He took it from the potions classroom just minutes ago, hiding it under his robes. He set the cauldron on top of it, and opened his bag up to reveal several potion ingredients, including those from his home and not native to the school. "It depends. If I can replicate my brother's potion that can melt diamonds and very acidic, then yes, if I screw it up. If I brew something that is from our textbook, then no." Astaroth needed to advance his potion skills, and he had a feeling that this school would not help him as much as he could help himself. He was going to do this, one way or another. But looking over his brother's work, he saw no directions. Just ingredients. He had no idea what to add and when, and stir which way or how long.

Instead, he started to work on a potion for the class. He thought it was rather boring, and poured the water into the pot. Forgetfulness potion did not appear to be that difficult. And he was brewing it ahead of time. He started to slice and chop, as silent as he could. "You are a Cardosi, that hails from Italy. Yet, you use a muggle pen. Intriguing." Astaroth faded off, as he added another ingredient in, and started to stir. He was not allowed the self stirring ones until he stopped destroying his other cauldrons, so he had to waste some energy because of his curiosity. He waited until the potion cooled, so he could vial it. He turned off the burner and removed the potion. He turned his back on it, and leaned against the desk, without putting his entire weight on it. He'd tip it over then, due to his size. Unlike others within his family, Astaroth was not always blunt into saying what his plans were. That potion he wanted to make, that was a mystery. Was it for the sheer fun, or did he want to use it on a person?​

 

[Primavera Cardosi]

At the Zhefarovich's words Prim definitely didn't feel reassured in that he wasn't going to accidentally blow up this cauldron and kill them both, the girl definitely didn't plan for that to happen, and she doubted her surrogate father would be too pleased about it either, although starting a fight over her death with the Zhefarovich's would be ill-advised. Primavera didn't want to risk that and she didn't even really want to know why he was trying to melt diamonds, just hoped that he was good enough at potions to not get it wrong, "Well, don't get it wrong then," she replied with her usual heavily accented tone. The girl had not yet lost her accent despite the amount of time she spent in this school so far from her native country, but her accent was likely what had helped alert him as to who she was, or who her family were considering he seemed to know it, likely in the same way that she knew of his family.

Prim shrugged at his statement, "It's a pen," she told him holding it out and then looking between it and him, as if to suggest that it was perfectly harmless, which of course it was. She placed the end of the pen at the edge of her mouth before giving a little shrug, "You are right, I am a Cardosi, and being that, means I can do what I want, so if I want to use a muggle pen, I'm going to use a muggle pen," she told him, since it was honestly what she believed, she was above muggles, and she was above muggleborns, and those half bloods, but she was not above using one of the nifty little inventions. Her status in her mind allowed her to use such items without making it appear as though she was a sympathiser to those people, just that she could because of who she was. Primavera said nothing more on the matter, choosing to watch him and what he was doing rather than the work she had in front of her, "Did you hear about the first year half blood who got torn apart by the Transfiguration professor?" she asked with a small smile, knowing he probably had heard about the incident and she had more than enjoyed the story, considering who he was, she imagined he had likely enjoyed it too.
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[Astaroth Zhefarovich]

Astaroth allowed his eyes to lower to the potion to check on it, and he double checked the ingredients. No, everything was perfect. Looking over the ingredients for his brother's potion, it was a fair bit more troublesome, including tissue from... Astaroth wasn't even going to read the rest of it. It was just ridiculous on what sort of potions that his brother could do. "I'm not going to try my brother's potion. It was a bit more difficult. And the ingredients are hard to come by." He would show her the ingredients, but they were considerably dark for someone he did not trust or even know. He pocketed the potion ingredients and kept an eye on the bubbling mess. It was not hard to create, but it was still something. He made sure the burner was off for a second or third time, and the potion was complete. Not the one he really wanted to make, but it was better than nothing at all. He rummaged through his bag for a few vials, until he placed them on the side of the desk. It would not be long now until the potion would be cooled off. It was still pretty hot. He held his hand over it to feel the heat without touching the liquid.

She confirmed that it was indeed a muggle pen, but why she held it out to show him was beyond him. He shrugged it off as nothing more than a statement she was wanting to make. He chuckled a bit when she seemed to have a sense of pride. Astaroth was not aware of the family that much, but he knew that Collineus did some business with his father. "You have a lot of pride for your family. Never lose it. The Cardosi are respectable and how Collineus came to rule the family. Not that I know, that is. I suppose that would entitle you to dip into the dirty pool for a mere utensil." Astaroth's tone revealed that he was not mocking her because he was simply interested, and amused. He did, however, show some emotion when she mentioned about the first year incident. Astaroth nodded, "I did. It was an amazing event. I believe my sister witnessed it. I don't know the full story though. Do tell."​

 

[Primavera Cardosi]

The girl definitely felt reassured the Zhefarovich was opting to not make the potion that his brother had made, since she was sure that no matter how good he was it was likely to end with disaster and she wasn't too interested in being close when such a thing ended up happening, Prim felt she had way too much to do in the world to ever end up being like that, dying in school, or being disfigured because of the Zhefarovich boy in front of her. The girl twirled the pen in her fingers as she looked back down at the work which was in front of her choosing to focus on that rather than on what he was doing, knowing that he wasn't working on some potion which could affect her and her work, Primavera was pretty happy to just go back to her work, she didn't want to fail her exams or her classes and so she always worked pretty well, and she liked to do it in silence, alone, but given that he was in this room and that he wasn't going to leave she had decided this was as good a time as ever for it to happen.

The teen looked at him and his statement, puffing out her chest in a motion of pride at the mention of her family, Primavera was of course very proud of her family, of the name and weight that her name carried, she knew that her family interacted with his, why she knew that she had to be respectful towards him, she wasn't blind to the runnings of the family and she wasn't about to feel anything less than pride for it, she respected her surrogate father and everything he did, she knew as the daughter whom hadn't been born to him she had more to prove so she always tried to push herself further, push herself to do better, stand prouder and it worked for her, or at least she believed that it did, "A pen is hardly a dirty item," she told him, "It is practical, at least the most practical thing muggles have come up with, I only use them when studying, easier and quicker than a quill and ink," Prim knew that she didn't need to justify it to him, but she was. It seemed however that her story about the girl in the class peaked his interest and so she launched into a description of everything that had happened, or what she'd heard that had happened, enjoying the misery of this girl and what she'd done wrong, "Serves the girl right," Prim finished with a smirk, "Filthy half bloods shouldn't be allowed in this school,"
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[Astaroth Zhefarovich]

Astaroth grew more curious about this girl. Prim. She was never really someone that he thought that he could get along with, but here he was, talking to her. And, she was fascinating. Astaroth wondered if Virgil would have liked her too. Wait, that would imply that he did like her to some degree. Perhaps not in that way. Astaroth figured that this would be interesting, none the less. She spoke of the muggle item as not being dirty, which made him approach her and take a seat near her so that he could observe the muggle invention closely. He cocked his head to the side, as he observed her writing with it. He uttered, “Fascinating. It is like a self inking quill, without the feather.” Astaroth would not mind having a few of those himself, considering how many ink bottles he had gone through just writing down notes and whatnot for the Dark Arts class. He needed to have special attention in that one, and no one could have told him otherwise. The fact that he had just now learned about this invention did not please him at all. He should have known about it since the beginning. Astaroth wondered if Prim would have a spare he could experiment with.

“Agreed,” said Astaroth based on the half blood comment. He finally cracked a subtle smile, which looked foreign on his face, much like tears would. He decided to ask, “Are you the daughter of Collineus that is to be engaged to my brother, or are you another daughter of another male member of that Italian family?” Astaroth wanted to know because he was intrigued. She was pure-blood, no doubt. And she seemed to be really smart. That was always a plus. And she looked good. Astaroth was one of those that picked his friends out, and held them close. And he figured that this girl could be within his inner circle. “You see, I’m the son of Asparuh the Third, the most powerful one in my family. I have a powerful burden on my shoulders from trying to live in his shadow, as well as my oldest brother. Would you be in a similar boat?”​

 

[Primavera Cardosi]

Primavera was sure that she'd never manage to persuaded a Zhefarovich of the good qualities of a muggle pen, she couldn't imagine even doing that with her adoptive father much less this boy, but it appeared as though Astaroth was the kind of person who could deal with that being true. The girl just shrugged slightly at him, and smiled at his curious nature towards it, she was surprised to say the least but it was good, interesting, she liked that about this boy, even if this would be the only muggle item she'd try and stress to him, she liked that he wasn't completely dismissive of it, that he'd sat next to her and tried to understand it, "I saw some muggle use one while on holiday and asked them about it," she told him with a shrug, taking to muggles was not particularly fun, but she did it whenever she had to to get specific bits of information and she knew that using one had it's advantages, "I use a quill and ink for the important stuff, and this pen to just take notes and stuff," Prim continued with a small shrug before just smiling and launching into the more important issue of the half blood.

When the story was finished, she noticed the small subtle smile, and was once again surprised by him, since she had always thought they'd be incapable of smiling, incapable of doing anything like that, but here was the small and subtle smile which made her definitely interested in him, she knew it would be a rare thing and justly so when they had such family pressures which she knew they both respectively had. At his question she realised that he was not the Zhefarovich her cousin and adoptive sister was engaged to, "I'm the daughter of another male, but I was raised and have lived with Collineus ever since my parents died," she told him, since she figured that it was good enough to tell him this fact there was no use hiding it, likely he had some clue or had heard rumours of her situation as he continued speaking, she realised just who he was and how important he was, "Indeed I would, though the burden on my shoulders will never compare with yours," she told him since aside from knowing she'd leave school and work for him which was a given she was happy to commit to, she just had to worry about ensuring whomever she married would be as pure as she was.
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[Astaroth Zhefarovich]

1. Astaroth nodded at her reply, knowing that it was likely the truth anyway. Amazing that she even came across a muggle. He had ever seen one before. Well, alive. That was besides the point. Astaroth knew that what he had seen was likely nothing that others have. He had to endure many things while being brought up in the Zhefarovich Manor. Things that he could not ever repeat. He cocked his head slightly to the side, “A noble member of the Cardosi family seeing a muggle in person. That is certainly strange. I have never seen one before. You have some strange experiences that I will likely never obtain.” Astaroth wanted to see if he could learn from this female. Perhaps he could. Although, anything muggle seemed to be rather forbidden. Almost like taboo. It was definitely enough to attract his attention. Astaroth placed his hands on his lap, as he stared at the female. He could not help it. He was fascinated on how someone could learn from something as inferior as muggles.

Astaroth nodded as she explained who she was. So, she was adopted by Collineus. He sure did take in a lot of nieces and nephews of his. It was almost suspicious but it was none of his business. “I see. At least he raises the children correctly. The only thing I will need to worry about would be who I am paired up with in the future. For now, academics.” Astaroth paused for a moment, glancing back at his cauldron that needed some cleaning. “In fact, I would not object to us studying together later. Perhaps I can attempt one of those pens.” It was a long shot, but he was being honest. He was wanting to try that one day, on notes or something. And who better than another pureblood?​

 

[Primavera Cardosi]

Primavera wondered just how closed off his life had been if he hadn't ever seen a muggle in person, she didn't venture outside of the magical world often but she supposed that for men with their robes it was easier to stay within the magical world, there were just more options in the muggle world with woman's clothes, but she just looked at him, "You've never been curious to at least look at their world," she asked him with a small look of curiosity on her face, "I mean, we're vastly superior and when we become of age, we can just look, throw the odd spell," she told him, if the muggle's didn't see them and they wiped the memories it wasn't like they'd ever be able to claim that magic was what happened, she wanted to see anything come of that, "Muggles are weak little creatures, and since we are superior even if we must hide in the shadows doesn't mean we can't have fun," she didn't know why she was explaining this to him, he likely didn't care about muggles in the slightest and had no desire to even see them, but for a Zhefarovich he might enjoy the explanation when given in the context of how superior they were.

At the mention of her adoptive family she just nodded and could understand the pressure from family to pick someone right, to pick the right person who was of the right family and blood, anything less and it would be a disappointment to her adoptive father and it wasn't like she wanted that, the kindness and tutoring he had put into correctly raising her was not going to be so easily cast aside. As the boy continued she smiled at him, and nodded, "That would be nice," Nice she thought wasn't the right word for it, beneficial likely worked better but it seemed a little to harsh as a thing to say, "I'm Primavera," she introduced holding out her hand to him, while discussing her pen they'd forgotten to even introduce themselves and now she'd established that he was worth speaking to it seemed like the right to do.
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[Astaroth Zhefarovich]

Astaroth was asked a question that really made him think. Was he ever curious about the muggle world? It was an odd question to ask about the muggle world to the pure-blood. It was something that he had never considered before. Although, he didn't want to have to go there and feel as though he definitely did not belong there. That was because he didn't. He was much more superior about things like that. As the girl went on about how they were superior, and what they could do to torture them, it was all becoming more appealing. Astaroth chuckled, "Oh I know all about living in the shadows. Perhaps that would be a little bit of fun. I like the thought of that. You have very good ideas." The thought of it definitely peaked his interest, and he was sure that his parents would not mind if he did something like that. It was what they used to do a long time ago. Astaroth would just have to do these things when he was older, and could not wait to become of age now. Perhaps his twin would be interested. Astaroth didn't like his hands being soiled, but Virgil didn't care. That was the difference between the two. The biggest difference.

There was a time where he did wish he was in an arranged marriage, but after seeing the way Chaos was handling his, Astaroth didn't want it. But then there was Asparuh the Fourth, who carried it like it was nothing. There was a good way to handle it, and a bad way. At least in Durmstrang, there were more pure-blooded females to choose from in the future. It was something to worry about when he was older. Perhaps next year or the next. At long last, she told him her name, to which he took her hand into his, giving it a peck on the back like a gentleman. He smirked, "My name is Astaroth. It is my pleasure." The fact that this was going so well, it was something that he was going to look forward to. Studying with another pure-blood from a very prestige family. About time he found company like that.

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Fin​

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