Closed When the birds fly

[Viktor Styx]

Viktor Styx actually left the school, more so in a hurry than most days, since he was going to meet Wynter Mckenna in Brightstone. Before, he would only go if she begged him and forced him. Now, he was doing it of his own free will. Viktor put on his robes and walked along the path toward the village. The coldness did not bother him considering he was from Russia and Bulgaria. Natives here seemed to hate the winter, but it wasn’t all that cold to the Ravenclaw Prefect. He shoved his hands into his pockets as he walked alone. This was preferable after all. People tend to get on his nerves really quick, so he did not bother inviting others. Not that he hung out with other people to begin with. It didn’t really change much. But what bothered him was that since Wynter was gone, no one could communicate for him. Perhaps he could recruit another replacement. Perhaps at a later time.

The village sign was up ahead, and he entered it. He glanced around to see if Wynter was waiting for him. His silver eyes landed on her form. He felt the anchor of irritation from the populace of Hogwarts New Zealand melt away as he approached her. She was carrying something, which looked like gifts but it would be rude to assume. He stopped when he was in front of her, and gave a short nod as a greeting. He spoke to her, but it was normally short, which was with most people. Even his own family members, but slowly, he was easing out of it around those that he trusted.

 

[Wynter Mckenna-Styx]

Wynter loved being back in New Zealand, though it was Winter, which of course she always used to hear jokes about how it was like her name, ugh, plebs. Still, she had missed New Zealand, after all, she had grown up here. This was her home and she always missed it. She’d spoken to her father recently about gifts for Viktor since she hadn’t seen him in some time and wanted to have something for him. She knew the kind of things that he liked and her father had certain connections. He’d set her up with Cardosi Inc and she’d taken full advantage of the connection to get her hands on a rare book full of weird and wonderful things, pricing had been no issue, since it was for Viktor, her favourite person in the world. It was not the only gift she had bought him however, though this was a much more comical choice. Once she’d arrived, she’d stumbled across a small out of the way store, it sold random baubles and little things, but what had struck her attention most was a small charmed sign, when it was held, it spoke, telling people that his interpreter was out, so they needed to come back later. She especially liked this gift, because she hoped it would make him laugh.​

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Dressed in tights under a black fold lace skirt and a red scarf, Wynter stood out against the white background, as she always did. She’d always had a preference for darker colours, which only became more prevalent the closer she’d become to Viktor, still, she did love the aesthetic and she knew he appreciated it, she wasn’t sure he’d be caught dead near someone in something pink and frilly. It wasn’t hard to spot him, he had this way of walking that almost dared people to talk to him, she hoped he’d really been doing okay up at the school without her, since she knew he wasn’t much of a talker. He stopped in front of her, taller than her as he was, and she had to look up at him, grinning excitedly. She loved spending time with him, a point most people clearly did not understand. “Viktor! You’re never late, ah, I love that, you tell me a time and you’re always here, so punctual, it’s great!” She said, twisting her arms around the bags awkwardly to clap her hands. “I’ve bought you gifts, but first let me tell you a little about my trip!” She said, knowing he knew she was speaking of her time in Italy. “So that Thunderbrooms CEO, he looooves younger women, it wasn’t hard to get him to spill the beans on the new broom they’re designing! Ugh, he’s like a million years old, older than your dad and probably your grandfather! It was horrible, but that’s what a little bit of firewhisky and some quick sleep powder is for, don’t you worry about me, I’m all in one piece! Got my story all done up, hopped a portkey back to America and boom, took some time off to come see you!” She said patting the bags, “but not before I got something for you!” She told him, reaching into the bags to produce a book.​

 

[Viktor Styx]

Her style was exquisite and stood out, much like the black robes for Viktor. She exclaimed how he was always on time. Viktor recalled if he was ever late, which he could not recall ever being late for anything. He gave a curt nod after the compliment. After all, she said that she loved how he was being punctual. He did make him wonder about other things she liked about him. Her letters gave him enough hints to know what she wanted him to do. She brought him gifts, but first, she explained about her trip. He narrowed his eyes slightly at the mention of that CEO and how he loves younger women. Wynter was a young woman. The man might have been older than Asparuh himself, who was nearly 100. She said that he shouldn’t worry about her, so he wouldn’t. Who would want to deal with someone that old anyway? She mentioned that she had something for him.

Wynter held out the book and he looked over the cover. Viktor smirked a little bit as he read the title. It was about Dark Magic and Artifacts. This was information he could read about that was not allowed in schools. He held it to his side, and used his free hand to give her small pat on the shoulder. It was a little show of thanks that he would give her. He did wonder if anything would top that book.

 

[Wynter Mckenna-Styx]

Wynter loved having Viktor with her, though she often found it hard not to physically attack him, or rather, as she liked to call it, hug him. She knew he wasn’t a huge fan, least especially from the way he seemed to be treated at school, which she found beyond abhorrent. She almost wished she could just march back up there and kick the Soonkyu person’s butt, not that she could make it past the gates in her current clothing, perhaps she could convince Viktor to borrow his robes, they would be too big, but she was sure she could manage. Still, it wasn’t all bad. “I do hope you like that book,” she said, though she could tell by the smirk that he did. “It was quite difficult to get my hands on, I had to pull some strings with Dad and he got me in to see the Cardosi family, they’re very good at this sort of thing, I want to try and see if they would give me a job, I think we could work out a mutually beneficial arrangement and I’m very sneaky, I could find out if they’ve got any leaks or if they have any competition, what do you think?” She wasn’t an idiot, she knew that Mister Cardosi wasn’t a nice man, but she’d never had much time for people who were nice, she always assumed that they had some hidden agenda.​

“I also have another gift for you!” She announced, reaching into her bag and pulling out the sign she had got for him. “How do you like this? It might help to keep annoying people away and maybe this Sophie girl would think it was funny, she’s a Ravenclaw, I’m sure she has a sense of humour under her icy exterior.” Truthfully, Wynter didn’t actually know that much about the girl, she was younger and in a different house, so there wasn’t much she would have had in common with her. She hated magazines, because she assumed they were all gossip, though, she occasionally read Wise Werewolf, mainly as a way to remember Ellie who’d died tragically. “We should go somewhere, it’s a bit chilly for me. I know you like the cold and I do too, but I don’t think I’m wearing the right boots, I wasn’t actually expecting it to be quite this bad, since I came from Italy and I didn’t really think about where I was going, I left most of my clothing there, since I have to be back in about a week.” She said, tapping her chin in thought. “I thought about going for lunch, I can pay, in case you’ve left your money at school, which would make sense, but if not, it can be your shout since I did came all this way, and you know it would be nice just to have a lunch with you. I was going to say a quiet lunch, but we both know I don’t know how to be quiet, sometimes I really think I should probably do something about that…”​

 

[Viktor Styx]

Viktor nodded as she talked about her connections. He knew of Collineus Cardosi, and his company. They were huge, and deep in the underground. He would support her working for them. Cardosi company would pay her very well. Viktor heard that she got him another gift. As she pulled it out the sign, Viktor shook his head while quietly chuckling. That would definitely be entertaining since Wynter wasn’t at school anymore to do the talking for him. Viktor listened as she talked about the cold, and her clothing. But, she kept on and on. Viktor placed his free hand on his temple for a moment. He didn’t know how in the world he forgot about her talking. It wasn’t that he didn’t enjoy it, it was just that she didn’t know when to stop. Her words in her letters repeated in his head. While he did not respond to them, he did remember them. He put the book in the pocket of his robes.

The Ravenclaw Prefect turned and placed both of his hands on her cheeks, before pressing his lips against hers in a gentle, but firm kiss. He pulled away from her and whispered, “You said you were waiting on a certain bird.” And, this would be a good way to get her to be a little quieter. He knew that romantic gestures would sometimes make a girl speechless, though. He didn’t like the fact that his first kiss wasn’t her, but then again, he could just erase that memory and keep this one. This was his first official, and wanted. Viktor had a feeling that he should have done that ages ago.

 

[Wynter Mckenna-Styx]

Wynter had hoped that Viktor would like her sign, after all she thought it would help him since she wasn’t there to do so. She generally felt quite protective of Viktor, not that he wouldn’t or couldn’t handle himself and he did have quite a lot of family at the school but sometimes she thought people were too anyone’s and for Viktor to have to put up with such nonsense alone, she felt like she wished she had been a little bit younger since then she would have been able to help him. She was happy that he chuckled because that meant he liked it and she hoped that he would use it a lot since she would be writing to him about it, just to make sure he was doing okay. As she kept talking however, she could see that Viktor seemed to be getting something of a headache and she was going to stop, honestly she was but sometimes when she was on a roll she couldn’t help herself she was a bit like a bulldozer in that regard. Still, she would never have guessed that Viktor actually paid attention to her as he quickly placed both hands on her cheeks. “Hey, Vik, what are you-” being cut off by a kiss to the mouth was certainly not something she would have expected at all and though it was short and firm, Wynter would not have imagined it any other way, had she imagined anything like it at all.​

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Wynter stood in stunned silence as Viktor stepped back, eyes wide and trying to process what had just happened. He mentioned a line she’d put into her letters, which she couldn’t believe since he never listened to her anyway, or so she thought, but did this prove her wrong? Did this mean that he had been listening to her all this time and she just never noticed? It was part of why she’d kept talking so much wasn’t it? The fear that no one paid much attention to her, both her parents and not even really her siblings since they mostly ignored anything she said since she was something of a compulsive liar, but Viktor has kissed her! She’s never thought he would, really she’d never thought that he would have considered it since she thought he would only think of her as a friend. The way he often complained about things she had always just assumed it and he wasn’t a very physical person so she thought it was a good assumption, though she didn’t suppose that when she did touch him he didn’t shrink away, was she the only person that was true for? She hoped so, since it would have been a bit upsetting otherwise. She breathed slowly through her nose, trying to preserve the feeling of his lips on her because she wasn’t sure when it would ever happen again, if it ever would. “I…” but what should she say? “I didn’t think you ever paid attention to the things I said, Viktor.” She told him, maybe now was times for truth even with his legilimens training.​

 

[Viktor Styx]

Viktor cocked his head slightly to the side as he really did make her speechless. Either that was so unexpected, or Viktor was just naturally talented at kissing. However, it seemed like he was wrong on both aspects. She mentioned that she didn’t think that he ever paid attention to her. And, he could tell that she was telling the truth. Why would she think that? Was it because he didn’t ever mention some of the things she said? Was it because he never talked? If he didn’t talk, he was listening. Observing. He sighed stepped a little closer to her. He used his hand to lightly brush the hair behind her ear. Sympathy appeared for a moment in his eyes. “I always listen to you, Wynter. That is why I like having you around me,” Viktor continued to be affectionate toward the girl with the name of his favorite season.

Wynter. She was always his favorite person. He always had her around him when he was between classes, between lessons. Whenever he could have time, he was with her. “Wynter. As cold as the graveyard. Open as a book. The only one worthy of my affection,” Viktor gave her a small smile as he spoke, which was a rare sight indeed, but it could happen from time to time, at least, when he was around people he cared about. He talked around family, but mostly those that he was closely related to. His father and grandfather were perfect examples. His siblings heard a little less. Regardless, when Viktor spoke, it was carefully chosen words to bring about the deepest meaning. To him, it was the meaning behind the words and how they were presented. At least, that was the way he did it.

 

[Wynter Mckenna-Styx]

Wynter was still stumped. She couldn’t believe that Viktor had actually kissed her, she felt… warm and fuzzy inside. She had liked Viktor for some time, but hadn’t really known for sure that she liked him until just now. He was always so quiet and it was hard to tell just where she stood with him, but this was more than she could have hoped for. She never would have imagined that he actually listened to her, like properly actually listened to her. She was certain that most of what she said went in one ear and out the other, but now she was beginning to realise that he was more observant of her than she could have ever realised and he’d known what she was talking about in her letter! She went slightly red at that, wondering if it maybe had been part of the reason why he’d chosen now to kiss her when he could have done so at any time. Had he wanted to kiss her before and just didn’t feel right, or was he waiting for the right moment, all these thoughts were now in her head and she really wanted to know the answers to them, but she didn’t want to ruin the moment by asking him now, not when he was being so sweet and un-Viktor-like.​

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She went even more deeply red as he brushed her hair behind her ear, because she’d seen her father do that to her mother and she equated it to a loving gesture, which was so beyond anything she ever expected that she was stunned all over again. And all of it was directed at her! She had to admit she had felt a little bit of jealousy when he had mentioned those other girls, mostly because they were there and she wasn’t, but she didn’t think she had to worry about that now, not when he was saying such sweet things to her! She wasn’t totally thrown by his smile at least, as she had seen traces of a smile or a smirk on him before, but this was a little bit different, because this was something she felt was directed at her and for her eyes only, which she absolutely loved and the fact that he was choosing such beautiful words to describe her and that he was even doing it at all made Wynter lose her cool just a little bit. She didn’t want to cry in front of him, she was a grown woman dammit! But something about the way he spoke about her and how he was paying attention to her, just broke something in her that made every inadequacy she’d ever felt float to the surface and tears pricked her eyes and she bit her lip. “Oh, Viktor.” She said as she finally caved and threw her arms around him in a crushing hug.​

 

[Viktor Styx]

Viktor would likely have to explain it to her that once a Styx or a Zhefarovich chooses someone, then they won't want anyone else. At least, that was how he saw it. It was hard to describe it, but from what he was told by his father, this was somewhat how he felt when he met with the women he became attached to. It seemed that she was still somewhat speechless over the entire ordeal. She blushed even more as he brushed the hair behind her ear. Did she have tears in her eyes? It looked like it. This must have been very moving for her. She suddenly hugged him, tightly, which he wrapped his arms around her tightly. This feeling was unusual, but he enjoyed it. Wynter. His Wynter. He whispered, "You're mine, Wynter. You have been since the incident in the Forbidden Forest." This was true. Ever since he saw her, something about her drew him to her. Opposites attract, they say. Someone who is of a lot of words, and one who says few words.

 

[Wynter Mckenna-Styx]

Wynter has never expected to be emotional in front of Viktor but finally hearing about how he felt about her was... revealing. She was happier than she could express and she didn’t know how she was supposed to let him got back to school, she just wanted to keep him with her now that she knew and not let him go back to that wretched place. Surely he’d be better off learning from his own family than in that place where just anyone could touch him and do as they pleased. Of course she knew Viktor could and would defend himself should he see the need, but she would have preferred he not be in the position where he should have to. It was horrifying to think what could happen when she left him later today. She certainly didn’t want to, but she did have a job to go back to. As he hugged her back, Wynter buried her face in his coat. She was grateful that he was letting her hug him because honestly, she hadn’t realised how much she might need it until this moment. Wynter had never thought about it before, but her family were not affectionate.​

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“Viktor, I... honestly I’m stunned.” She told him, stepping out from the hug, but keeping her hands on his arms. Now that she knew he wouldn’t recoil at her touch, she was going to get in as much as possible. “You use such beautiful words for me and...” she trailed off, not sure how to continue. Viktor didn’t need words to tell her how he felt, but Wynter didn’t know any other way.​

 

[Viktor Styx]

Viktor felt Wynter bury herself within his coat. It seemed as though she were deprived of such affection. Viktor’s family were not affectionate themselves, but only when the time called for it, which he felt was now. She stepped from the hug, which Viktor noticed that her hands were still on his arms. It seemed as though she would still attempt to keep him around just by that action alone. Viktor would not be going anywhere anytime soon. The only thing he wished was that he could leave the school. But his pride would not allow such actions. Viktor listened as she trailed off, but then made a shh-ing sound so that she did not need to complete that train of thought. He knew anyway. “Let’s get you warmed up,” Viktor suggested, and then wrapped one arm around her waist, to lead her to where he would buy her a decent meal, and something hot to drink. After all, she was not as hot blooded as he was.

 

[Wynter Mckenna-Styx]

Wynter didn't think her shock would ever subside. She never would have believed it if she'd not witnessed it herself. Viktor Styx, giving someone affection, and it was her. She didn't think she could ever be happier than she was in this moment and somehow it was all just so perfect, so Viktor. As much as anything could be him, this was it. She couldn't believe she didn't see it before. He shushed her and she smiled through her tears. Only Viktor could shush her like that and not make her feel any less. He'd always somehow managed to bolster her self esteem, probably because even though she had never thought he actually listened to her, he'd never told her to shut up either, something she had become rather used to hearing. She sniffed slightly and nodded at him, her voice failing her once again. She walked alongside him as they headed towards some place a little warmer. It wasn't that big of a deal, Viktor may have been more hot blooded than Wynter was, but in all honesty, Wynter Mckenna had always preferred the cold. She couldn't say the words yet, but she knew one day she would. A confession to be given only in the most opportunistic of moments. Wynter loved Viktor, and now, happily, she knew that maybe he could love her too.​