From Russia with love

[Liir Goodwitch]

Liir had a rather sour look on his face as he exited yet another shoe store with his mother close behind carrying two more bags with today's shopping finds. It seemed cruel and unusual to force a son to go shopping with his mother but Liir put up with it without complaint after all his father used to complain about everything under the sun which drove a young Liir up the wall. The mere thought of his father caused his skin to crawl as an image of him and his no good homewrecker galloped across his mind which only furthered the sour look he had to the point that he appeared to be on the verge of throwing up. Turning to his mother who was lost in her own little world Liir could not help but soften his facial muscles just a little for her happiness was all that mattered in his world these days after all with the lack of a man in the house Liir had little time for childish games but rather he put all of his energy in his education so that one day he could elevate the two of them far above the rest of the world.

When Liir got his acceptance letter to Hogwarts he had decided that instead of wasting his time running around like a lost boy that he would strive to make those personal connections that his grandfather often showed off to him in his mother every time they were around after all the man was greatly respected in his field of expertise. Next goal on his list would be to study hard so that he could get a higher position at the ministry upon graduating then from there it would be only a few steps till he reached the top and became Minister of Magic. A station worth of respect and recognition that he could use to ensure his mother would never go without or have to worry about anything from there Liir would be able to take care of her until the end of her days. Like all things however a few road block popped up in his way the biggest was that his opinion of the famed New Zealand Branch was subpar and could not teach him everything he need to know to become powerful and successful so after much research he sent an owl to his mother requesting a transfer to Durmstrang instead. This was no difficult task and after a few letters back and forth his mother finally agreed so at midterm she transferred him to Durmstrang who were more than happy to accept him into their ranks.

Now that he was in Russia for the better part of the year the next obstacle was that he would have to start fresh which was never easy especially for someone come in at mid semester. So far he had only met a few children of worth families but some of them were still rather immature something that annoyed him beyond all measure however he sucked up his pride and made nice with all of them that he could tolerate for extended periods of time. However none of them were well connected enough or had enough power that he could depend on in the years to come so his searched waged on with little progress. With the school year just around the corner he had to try a little harder unless his first would be a rather huge let down on his things to do list.

Liir was lost in thought when he passed a pet ship which caused him to remember that he need to buy Icarus a few more mice as he had already ate through his current supply. Icarus was Liir's pet falcon and was a rather dependable companion that Liir often vented to when things got rough at school even though the small bird could not respond back it still help calm him down enough to once more face his issues head on. He would be lost without Icarus though he hate to admit it but given that he had not meet anyone that he could truly call his friend Icarus was all he had ... well besides his mother though she could not come to school with him if he wanted her to due to the fact she had graduated some time ago. Spinning around Liir asked his mother if he could do a little shopping buy himself which she gave him a small purse of galleons to spend on what he wanted or need before heading off to a nearby rob shop to see if she could not get that robe she had been eyeing in Witches Weekly. Free from his mother influence Liir entered the store and began to look around the mice section as he began to pick out a few more plump mice for his feathered friend.

Out of Character:

I set it up in a pet shop which would give Nika a reason to be out and about with his family, school shopping and all. Also this take place on a weekend which Liir was allowed to go to a local wizard merchant street close to Durmstrang.

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[Nikandros Matthias]

Traveling with Zion was not exactly what Nikandros Matthias had in mind. Zion had been one of those guys that traveled a lot, but he was working in Africa of all places. Not a place Nika wanted to go at all. Instead, Nika wanted to go to the village by Durmstrang to do some of his shopping. He already had his wand, and he was sorted into Gryffindor. The sorting hat really laid it into him, so if Godric Gryffindor did not want him, then why was in this house? Zion had been glad that he was sorted but still. Nika was just disappointed that he did not get in the same house as Troxa, his older brother. He was sorted into Slytherin which Troxa thought was the best house under the sun. So, there was no telling what Nika would have gone in, and then the next Matthias brother to go into school was none other than Blaine, the youngest of them all. Sometimes it sucked being one of the youngest. Nika did not get much time with his older siblings. Sometimes it sucked. However when Zion was talking to a pretty girl, he took this time to slip away. He wanted to go around the village himself. Who knows, he could run into someone interesting here, someone that went to Durmstrang. That school was nothing but interesting, and he adored it. If only he had gone here! But no, his dad decided to be a pain and move. Of course at the time they were living in the United States so he would have been sorted into Salem, but no, his dad just wanted him to suffer with attending school with a bunch of lonely idiots! Nika just didn't want to deal with it, but he wanted to get as far as he could in the world. There were many Matthias brothers, but none of them really stood out. Zion was a doctor, Valerius did whatever, Troxa was in school, Sethos controlled everyone that he was around, Terence was this exotic dancer, the list went on. Nika wanted to be different from them all, but he didn't know how he would do it. There were just so many, and all of them had good looks, so he couldn't be the prettiest of them all. He would find his calling soon enough. Nika didn't know what he wanted to do either. He was bloody eleven, what eleven-year-old knew what they wanted to do? Surely the strippers of the day and age did not know what they were going to be when they grew up when they were his age. Although thankfully they did not change their minds or else the men would not be as entertained, and his father would be cranky.

Putting two fingers to his lips, Nika blew an ear-splitting whistle through the air, calling his earless owl named Andro to him. Nika was not exactly good with names, thus giving his pet a part of his name instead. Nikandros was a long name anyway, and he went by many shortened things. Hearing the flapping of the wings, the pet came soaring to him, and it was small enough to perch on his shoulder. Nika felt not as lonely with Andro on his shoulder. He smirked slightly and started to walk through the crowd with expensive clothing on. It basically told that he had money, which was not as much as he liked to think due to the divorce of his parents, but he still had class. His father was going to be making good money in the Ministry any moment since his father was up for a promotion thanks to his age. He was not that old, but he was old enough anyway. He thought that it would be really cool if his dad was in the Wizengamont. It truly would be. However his mind was slipping into his thoughts, his amber eyes remained forward. They looked as though they were swirling with power. Though not many first years could say that they were powerful at all. All he knew how to do was perform Lumos, and he had difficult shutting it off too. Not that he was going to tell anyone else that. That would be just embarrassing. Nika peered into the pet store, and wondered if Andro needed some treats. "Want something good to snack on? Treats? Or a nice, plump, juicy mouse?" The owl blinked its eyes, before it just looked ahead. Well, that was good enough for an answer as he was going to get. Nika entered the store, and he immediately went over to the section where there were mice. And there was someone else there too. Nika was not good at English, but since he was in Russia, he might as well speak the language, "Hey, looking for some food for your pet, too?" He hoped that he was not going to buy mice for a pet, that was just bad. What boy would do that? Mice were fun to play with, sure, but then fed to noble birds or snakes. If Nika could stand to be around snakes.​