Strolling Down Memory Lane

[Irene Finch]

With the brief reprieve that Irene had been given from work, she decided to head to Russia where she hadn't visited since she'd come of age. The trip had been a present from her parents and Irene had loved the chance to explore the country on her own. She'd stuck mostly to the wizarding village during that stay because her parents had asked her to and she never disobeyed her parents. At least not back then. Much had changed in Irene's life since then, but she was glad to see that the areas she had frequented were still very much the same. With her cloak over her head, Irene continued to walk down the street looking for the bakery where she had spent much of that week.

Finding the spot easily, Irene reached for the door just as a man stepped out and passed right by her. Irene's heart kicked up a few notches. He looked so very much like her father and Irene wondered how her father was doing. There hadn't been any contact from him, not even so much as an owl in over five years and she knew that her brother had certainly not heard from him. After the death of his wife, the man had not been the same and it must have been easy for him to forget a son who was full of talent yet had no obedience or control and a daughter with no apparent gift and who also lacked the remorse to practice the dark arts. Irene had learned at a young age what the Finches were and had grown up surrounded by whispers and mentions of work that the family was doing to help other dark wizards. Being exposed to such things did something to a person especially a child even if they tried their best to not overhear things.

Ordering a drink to warm herself, Irene turned to the row of tables where many were seated bent over newspapers. She made her way swiftly over to an empty table and set her cup down so that she could unfasten her cloak and take it off. Sitting in the seat which was right by the window, Irene wondered what she should do with her day.

 

[Svetlana Khamidouline]

Svetlana had recently experienced something quite hilarious in her time. Alphonse just got burned, and she witnessed a bunch of people just consumed with darkness crack up with laughter, proving that they were just human like the rest of the world. Svetlana, just twenty, married and had a daughter…was expecting another too. She was barely pregnant, and she was not showing and would not be for a while. Sophia was in Svetlana’s arms, and her mass of brown curls bounced on her head as Svetlana walked today. Though Svetlana had become a hair dresser now, and she lived the good life, she still ventured off to the country of Russia where she was born and raised.

Sophia let out a holler in delight when her mother strolled into a little place where she would get some coffee for herself and some milk for Sophia. The pure-blood woman went to the counter and ordered what she needed, and said that the milk for Sophia needed to be warmed, and in a cup. Svetlana had brought a bottle for her daughter anyway. She thanked and paid for it, and like a pro, she poured the warm milk into the bottle and then allowed Sophia to drink from it, before taking her coffee and going to find a seat. It was right across from Irene Finch, but Svetlana failed to notice her classmate as of yet. Svetlana, back in the days, was a horrible girl – teasing other students and giving them all hell. She was a part of that group that were just horrible to students.

Now Svetlana was grown up, and a lot nicer. Svetlana set the almost one-year-old girl, daughter of a Death Eater and a mother sorely against Death Eaters. Her brown eyes glanced over at the woman that Sophia was staring at, and Svetlana narrowed her eyes. Prefect…Irene? Yes, it had to be! Svetlana could easily speak to her from this distance, and she called out to the shopkeeper that was older than she, “Irene, former prefect at Durmstrang, is that you?”

 

[Irene Finch]

As Irene sipped her coffee, she was happy that the barista had gotten it right. So many places made their coffee, either too sweet or too cold but the woman behind the counter had made it just as Irene asked. Bitter and hot. She continued to look out of the window for a few moments, not paying attention to any of the other patrons. As she set down her half full cup, she glanced over to the table across from her. Her blue eyes caught a young child looking at her. Irene wasn't sure how she felt about children yet. It was true that they were pretty cute, but she also knew that most of them were brats especially if she was thinking about the children who entered the dinette. They threw food around, threw tantrums when they didn't get their way and were just generally loud. This little girl seemed to be well behaved. For now.

Returning to her drink, Irene froze midway to her mouth when she heard someone say her name and add prefect to it. It could only have come from someone she attended school with and she looked up to the table where the child was to see who it was. Her eyes moved up from the child and fell on a pretty brunette and the name instantly came to her. She definitely remembered this one. Irene only remembered the other prefects who she had become friendly with and the troublemakers. Svetlana was part of the last group and she had gained a bit of a reputation for herself during their years in school. "Yes" she said slowly, nodding her head. "Svetlana, right?" she said, a small smile crossing her face. "I haven't seen you since...I graduated" she realized, setting her cup down again. She was one of the last people Irene expected to remember her from Durmstrang.

 

[Svetlana Khamidouline]

Sophia gurgled in delight. Svetlana sighed and she hushed in Russian, "Calm, daughter." Svetlana didn't want Sophia to end up with the hiccups which resulted in having Sophia cry and get upset. Svetlana took the bottle from the baby girl's mouth, and set it beside her on the seat. Svetlana had proved to be a decent mother, but she was still learning. Svetlana turned her brown eyes to Irene, and if compared the present Svetlana to the past, it would be a complete change. The Svetlana now was a lot calmer, a lot more decent, and she was so much nicer than before. Svetlana put Sophia in her lap and she turned to face Irene. "I thought I recognized you." Irene was always pretty, but Svetlana could not remember much of her in school. She did remember Hades though, another prefect who freaked out Svetlana, even now. She had recently seen him marrying two grown-ups into one under evil or something, and that gave Svetlana nightmares for a week.

Sophia continued to stare with her chocolate brown eyes, and she smiled at Irene as well. Svetlana's lips curled into a small smile, and wondered what Irene had been doing since she graduated. She seemed the type to be very successful. Svetlana had ended up in a bad situation where Sophia's father entered her life for one night, and produced a baby girl. However, she had been a professor in training, but that failed, and now she was a hair stylist. Two careers within a year. That was not considered professional at all. But now, Svetlana was married into the Snow family. Some members were evil and scared her, but she didn't think Leon was evil at all. "I know. What have you been doing since graduation?" Svetlana inquired with a pleasant tone to her voice. There was no sign of acting, for this was the real woman that hid beneath the untouchable status she once held.

 

[Irene Finch]

Irene picked up her coffee and took a sip of the hot liquid as she listened to Svetlana speak. It was true that she looked the same. The only thing that had really changed about Irene was how she dressed. Her old schoolgirl threads were gone and replaced with her idea of sophisticated adult. Svetlana was a different story though at least in Irene's opinion. There was something very different about the young woman sitting before her and it didn't take her long to realize that she'd never heard Svetlana speak in such a nice tone before. It was true that many of the Durmstrang women were said to be cold and Irene could certainly be included in that to some extent, but Svetlana had been a special type of trouble when she'd been in school or so she heard. Irene couldn't remember all the students she'd had a hand in disciplining so it was hard for her to remember if she'd ever gotten Svetlana in any big trouble.

Putting her empty cup down, Irene smiled. "Well...after I left Durmstrang, I traveled for a few years." She glossed over the fact that she'd been seeking her brother during her travels because he'd fled Romania to do who knew what after the death of their mother. "And then I eventually found a job with the New Zealand ministry working with the Department of Transportation." She smiled and then added, "and last year, I opened up a small place like this one in Mukutu. You should visit sometime if you ever happen to be in the area."

With a nod to the young child besides Svetlana, Irene asked, "How about you? I see some of what has happened since graduation."

 

[Svetlana Khamidouline]

Svetlana felt a wave of nausea hit her, and with one of her hand, she covered her nose for a moment and breathed for a moment. The first trimester was one of the worst for Svetlana, but after that, everything was fine. After the wave passed, she went to her coffee, and she took a drink of it. Once Irene started to speak, Svetlana listened with an open mind. She was pleased when she heard that she traveled for a few years. Svetlana did not ask why, and didn't think anything of it. Svetlana did thing it was impressive that she got a job at the Ministry. She smiled to show that she was highly interested in what Irene had to say. For someone much older, well not too much, but she was successful in Svetlana's opinion. But what was very impressive was that Irene was a shop owner and a ministry official. Svetlana knew that she didn't or couldn't do something like that. Not both at once.

Sophia happily smiled in delight, and Svetlana took another drink of her warm coffee. Svetlana glanced down at Sophia and she laughed. Well, some things after graduation were obvious. "You are a lot more successful than me. I could never do those things at once. Sophia takes up a lot of my time. But I will come by and visit. I need to see that mall at any rate." Her warm brown eyes sparkled in the light. "Me? Um, after graduation, I was still wild and partying. One mistake, and I was landed with Sophia. She helped me turn my life around, so I got a job as a professor-in-training for a while, but I quit after she was born. I became a hair stylist, but I work for a lovely lady in France, and I live with my husband. And find out, I am giving my husband a child now." Svetlana basically revealed that Sophia was not her husbands, but Sophia bore Leon's last name. That was when she could tell that she loved him. "What type of shop or place fo you own in the mall?"

 

[Irene Finch]

Smiling at Svetlana, Irene shook her head at the compliment she had been given. "It is kind of you to say" she stated simply as she listened to Svetlana describe her post Durmstrang years. It seemed that this woman too had done much in the few years since they'd been in school.

Irene glanced once more as Svetlana spoke of her, realizing that even though the young girl had been the product of something that didn't last, she had done a lot for Svetlana. A wistful look crossed Irene's face as she realized that the younger woman now had many of the things that Irene did eventually want in her life: love, and if her husband one day wanted, some children. She knew that if her husband wanted them enough, she would be willing to give him a child or two.

"You've done a lot as well, Svetlana. Working two jobs is easy since I don't do much at the second one. I simply own the diner in the mall and on occasion, I'll pitch in if it's needed." She shrugged her shoulders as if to indicate that it wasn't much. Some cooking, some cleaning. "But, I couldn't imagine doing what you do. Working and taking care of a growing family?" her blue eyes widened, clearly impressed with the changes that had occurred with Svetlana. If the girl was the same as she had been back at school, Irene doubted the conversation would be the same. It probably wouldn't have occurred in the first place.

 

[Svetlana Khamidouline]

Sophia wanted down, to attempt to walk, but Svetlana kept her grip on her little girl. She took another drink of her coffee, and she smiled warmly. Svetlana was just like the rest of her family now, with kindness to show to everyone. No one knew why she was like she was when she was in school. But she was merely nothing but a fake. She was fake in her school days, and it took Sophia to snap her from her dreamworld. Much had happened in her life, but Svetlana did not want a family so soon. She wanted a career, her own place, and settled into a decent house in Russia. However, Sophia allowed her to settle down, but Leon came into her life, and swept her off of her feet. Now, she was a hairstylist, and she worked for about six to eight hours a day - though she was on maternity leave right now because the fumes could affect the little child growing within. Svetlana had her own place for a while, but she left it behind to move to the Snow Manor in France.

The future was unplanned, but Svetlana was content. Not everything can go her way now though. "Oh, that is what it is like owning a diner? Just pitching in when needed? But still, working in the Ministry has to be stressful." Svetlana glanced down at her young one who seemed to have taken an appeal to Irene, just smiling at her. Sophia was well-behaved, and surely enough, she was a happy little girl as well. Looked just like her mother. Svetlana shrugged lightly, "I can't really do much now, since the chemicals in the salon would affect the pregnancy. So, I'm on leave. Even before...this one was made, Sophia was being cared for by the Snow family, and my husband. Raising a growing family would have been a lot harder if I didn't have anyone else with me. Leon though, he is a blessing." Svetlana realized that she was talking a lot about the love of her life. "Are you married or have a significant other?" inquired Svetlana with a smile on her face.

 

[Irene Finch]

"It is" she admitted, nodding her head. "I wish I could help out more at the dinette but the department needs me, so..." she shrugged her shoulders. She spent some time traveling from place to place dealing with splinching cases and during the summer months she taught apparition to the sixth years at Hogwarts New Zealand. "I think I may leave the Ministry in a few years and focus all of my attention on the dinette, but we'll see." That was the plan she had for the future anyway, but only time would tell if it would come to pass.

Irene noticed that Svetlana's little girl was looking at her and smiling. Children made her rather uneasy. Most of them seemed to like her for some reason, but she didn't feel the same way about them. In fact, she thought children were messy and bratty and rude. The little girl sitting with her mother looked like an angel though and Irene only hoped that if she did have children one day that her child would be quiet much like the girl before her. Irene smiled slightly at the little girl and then looked back at the girl's mother as she spoke about her husband and how much he cared for her and her daughter. It was the life she wanted for herself. She wanted to have someone care for her and make working a choice and not a necessity. One day, Irene hoped that would happen for her. Irene shook her head at the question she knew was sure to follow Svetlana's description of her own relationship. "No...I was dating someone for a while, but it didn't work out" she said with a slight frown on her face. "It is alright though. I'm pretty busy, so it would be hard to have a relationship too." That was the excuse Irene used anyway to justify why she didn't have a boyfriend. "It sounds like Leon is a wonderful man. I'm happy for you. How far along are you anyway? You don't seem very big..." she asked with a quick glance to the younger girl's belly.

 

[Svetlana Khamidouline]

Svetlana nodded softly, and she finished off her coffee. The drink had given her some awareness, but she kept her caffeine ingestion to a minimum. Sometimes, she just needed it. Svetlana made sure that Sophia didn't get off of her lap when she adjusted herself in the booth. The little one inside her was giving her a rough time with morning sickness and the weirdest cravings. She could almost not wait to get into the second trimester. The first was always the roughest, even though Sophia did not give her a hard time at all. Svetlana nodded softly, "That sounds just unfair that the department pulls you away from what you want to do. But if that is the plan, stick with it. And don't let sudden surprises get you off guard." Svetlana wanted to return to her home country one day, but maybe she could have both? Spend the summers in Russia, and the winters in France. But that would put a lot of stress of moving back and forth on the children.

Perhaps have a vacation house or something for the summers? Svetlana wondered if Leon would go for that. She hoped so. Svetlana sighed and she responded, "Oh, well, I am sure the right man will come along and sweep you off of your feet. I am sure that whoever comes along will accept that you are busy..." Svetlana thoguht for a moment, and she was rather optimistic now. Svetlana glanced down at her stomach, and she counted the weeks up in her mind. "Thank you, I guess I was just lucky. Leon didn't go to our school, so I doubt you have met him. But I am about nine weeks along now. I won't show until later." Svetlana smiled and she shrugged lightly. "I cannot wait to see if the new one is a girl or a boy. I think Leon wants a boy. But I kind of like girls better. Much easier to take care of in my opinion."

 

[Irene Finch]

Irene listened to Svetlana and then nodded her head. She'd worked at the Ministry before she had opened up the Dinette, so she had a bit of allegiance to the Ministry. Besides, even though it was hard work sometimes, she enjoyed helping people to unsplinch themselves. It was important work to keep muggles from noticing magic in any form, and if a muggle came across a splinched person or part, they would surely have questions. "We'll see how things work out" she nodded at the woman's sound advice about not being caught off guard and sticking to her plan. That was one of Irene's biggest faults. She never seemed to follow through on things and usually ended up getting caught of guard. It had happened to her in the past more than once, but now thankfully, she didn't really have too many surprises coming her way. It was a good thing too because Irene had never been one for surprises.

She smiled at Svetlana's comments about the right man coming along one day. She could only hope so, but it was something she had no control over. At one point, she thought she had found 'the one,' but things hadn't worked out. "I hope you are right" she said hopefully and then listened as the younger woman began to speak about her pregnancy and husband once again. His name didn't ring a bell to her, so she was sure that she'd never met the man that Svetlana spoke of so well. She chuckled when Svetlana told her that she wanted a girl even though her husband wanted a boy. That usually seemed to be the case, and Irene considered for a moment which she would prefer. If she ever had a child of course. Boy she decided after only a moment of thought. "Really? I always thought girls were really loud and looking for attention, but your daughter seems to prove me wrong. She's so well behaved" she said.

 

[Svetlana Khamidouline]

Svetlana wondered what it was like to work in the ministry, but Svetlana also did not have any interest in working for them. Especially with her last name now, because of Alphonse. He was a bad man, Svetlana knew it, but she did not know that he was a Death Eater. She was oblivious to just how surrounded of Death Eaters there were around her, the Zhefarovich’s, the Snow’s, the…whatever’s! They were Death Eaters, and Svetlana were completely terrified of Death Eaters. Why she was married to one was beyond her. Then again, he did not have his mark yet either, so it was possible that Svetlana did not know at all. “I’m not too sure if I will see it, but that will make me want to keep in touch, huh,” Svetlana intoned lightly with a smile on her face. Sophia curled next to Svetlana, her hands upon Svetlana’s hair. Svetlana was tired, because even now, Sophia did not like to sleep at night.

Though Sophia rarely cried. She just shook the bars of the crib to have someone aid her. She was smart, like her mother, a bit too much like her actually. Sophia’s eyes drifted to a close, as she slowly fell asleep. Svetlana felt this against her, and she smiled down at her baby. Svetlana laughed softly, and she pointed out, “My sister-in-law had quadruplets a while back, and her boy Lucien is a terror. But the two girls are well behaved for the most part. Then again, when they hit their teenage years, both genders are terrible, to deal with. Been there, done that!” Svetlana paused for a moment. “Sophia is one of a kind. I’ve never seen one like her, and I am thankful for being so lucky. I was afraid she would have more of her father in her than me. But…I don’t know her father, personally.” Svetlana frowned a bit, but all that was behind her now.

 

[Irene Finch]

Irene watched as Svetlana's daughter leaned closer to her mother and slowly but surely fell asleep. She smiled to herself, thinking it was such a cute thing to watch. Listening to Svetlana speak, Irene's eyes widened. She could barely contemplate having one child, let alone four at once. It sounded incredibly draining and difficult. "Oh my...the poor woman" she uttered softly.

"Wow...my brother Ioan and his wife Adrianne have two children, a boy and a girl, and he is always complaining about how hard it is with just the one newborn in the house. I couldn't imagine having four at once." She'd gone to his house once since the newborn had been born and had left soon after when she'd heard Alana's wailing. She shook her head and then listened when Svetlana mentioned her daughter's personality and the man who had helped to create the girl before her. "That's his loss...to not know such an adorable child..." she tsked loudly though not loud enough to wake the baby.

 

[Svetlana Khamidouline]

Svetlana wondered how Nataliia handled it. But now she was pregnant again. But she did not know how many it was. That woman was amazing, and a natural mother. “She is a stay-at-home-mother now, so she spends all of her time with her quadruplets and her oldest.” Svetlana admired that woman, and she had just turned twenty-five and mother to five. Yet, she had more on the way. Svetlana could not handle it. She did not mention Nataliia’s name because she had attended Beauxbatons and would be another useless name to Irene. The pregnant woman did not know who either of them were. Perhaps Ioan was older and out of school before she entered? Svetlana figured as much.

But then that name, Adrianne rang a small bell but not much of one. All Svetlana needed was the maiden name. Otherwise, nothing. “Men usually do complain, so it is not surprising. I don’t know your brother though, nor his wife. They might have those obnoxious children.” Svetlana adjusted Sophia in her arms, and she smiled down at her baby girl, sound asleep. Svetlana thought for a moment, and she shrugged lightly. “That man, I doubt he even cares about this young one. In her eyes, and mine, her father is my husband. But I want Sophia to grow up with loving people around her,” Svetlana paused for a moment and she smirked, “Has Sophia changed your mind about children yet?” A joking tone laced her Russian voice.

 

[Irene Finch]

Irene laughed when Svetlana mentioned that the woman with quadruplets was a stay at home mother. "I'll bet" she joked, figuring that the woman could probably do little else with so many children in the house. It was why she wasn't in a rush to have children. It might mean she would have to stop working and Irene was not ready to give up such independence to be enslaved to a husband and children.

"He does complain a lot, but I guess the children aren't terrible" she admitted about her brother. She did think the children were slightly obnoxious though to most other people they would seem like normal children. "He is. If he is the one caring for her then he is her father." She smiled when Svetlana posed a question to her, her gaze falling on the dozing girl. She shook her head. "I'm afraid not. Well, maybe...just a little. She is adorable" she admitted as she held her fingers up to indicate just how much her mind had changed.

((we can start wrapping this up if you want))

 

[Svetlana Khamidouline]

OOC: Yeah, I've got a good way to end it. I like how they got along though. =D

In a way, Svetlana admired her newly found sister, even if she were crueler than Svetlana. Sophia stirred in her slumber, and that was one thing she did not want to do was wake up her daughter. Svetlana had finished her coffee and had the energy to get up and get some things done. "I am happy to hear that they are not," Svetlana commented truthfully. Terrible children were the worst in her eyes. That just meant that they had control or something, but Svetlana was still new to this mothering thing. It would not be long until Sophia hit that terrible two stage. Even Svetlana thought that she would not luck out of that one.

"Well, do not have children too early, earlier than what you want. Trust me, it doesn't pay off in the end," Svetlana spoke, her tone hushed so her child could sleep. But Svetlana did need to return home to Leon, before he got too worried. Especially since she was pregnant again, at an early stage, it was common for her to miscarry before she even knew she was pregnant. Svetlana slowly stood up, adjusting her baby in her arm, and carrying the empty cup in her free hand. Thank heavens Sophia was not a chunky baby. Svetlana smiled, "I think I should be going before Leon gets too worried about me. I've had a lovely time chatting with an old schoolmate. Perhaps we shall meet again at your diner, but I may have to bring Leon around as well." Svetlana was sure that they would get along. Surely she was holding Irene up on something important as well.

 

[Irene Finch]

Irene hid a smile behind her fingers as she listened to Svetlana. She shook her head. "No...I do not plan to" she said. There was no way that she would be forced into having a child before she was ready. It would take a miracle in the form of some rich, handsome wizard to get her to give in to that idea.

As Svetlana began to stand and lifted her daughter, Irene also stood. It was time for her to get going as well. She finally figured out what she wanted to do with her day and it would take time to get there, so she needed to get going as soon as possible. "It was lovely catching up. I look forward to seeing you and meeting Leon as well" she smiled down at her newfound friend. She was still quite surprised at the conversation that the two women had shared, enjoying it immensely. She would never have guessed, especially since she'd never had a conversation with Svetlana before. Then, she headed for the door, leaving to head to the house of a friend she hadn't seen in some time.

((me too ))