September 1936.
Durmstrang Institute.
Gisela
The students swarmed into the castle in flocks, each group distinctly distinguished by their age and nationality, at least four different languages being muttered throughout the halls of the magnificent castle. They had been separated between the genders at the castle gates, heading to separate wings of the castle where their dormitories were located. Gisela watched from her perch in the library that looked out across the front courtyard and into the mountains as groups of gossiping girls made their way inside, indicating that she should retire to her rooms. The first assembly of students was not until after breakfast the following morning, so perhaps she could attempt to acquaint herself with her fellow classmates.
Already in her uniform, she skipped back through the empty higher floors to the first-year girl's quarters, fidgeting with the sides of her pleated black skirt as the sounds of fast chatter in foreign languages got louder and louder. She turned the corner to find at least a hundred girls crowded around the entrance to the dormitories, all of them well above her height, suddenly running in all at once. She wondered what all the rush was about until she distinctly heard something about 'getting the best room for a group' exclaimed in German. She was surprised that girls would be eager to share a dorm, rather than have their own rooms, but she supposed they didn't understand the privilege of the latter.
After they all piled through the door, she slowly made her way in, heading to her room seemingly invisible to the frantic and excited girls running around her. The first years claiming beds in the three large shared dormitories, with ten beds each, clearly organised by language. The first room she passed she could hear the laughter of Germans, the only language she could understand, all talking about who got the best bed. The second room was filled with Bulgarians, and although she could not understand their words, they sounded far more aggressive. The last dorm she could hear the sound of Polish chatter, far quieter than the voices from the previous two rooms. Then there were the smaller dorms, five beds each, with the respective languages being the reason for the choice obvious. There were two rooms of Romanians, followed by two rooms of students from Yugoslavia, a few different languages thrown around, then one room with Hungarians and one with Czechoslovakians. Then there were the ten private rooms, only one other of them occupied indicated by the newly closed door - obviously not a popular option.
She headed to her room, furthest from the entrance to the dorms, and shut the door behind her. She had no interest in socialising at this present moment, particularly when most of her classmates spoke in foreign languages. She would be enough of an outsider amongst the Germans. She began to settle into a book when her peace was rudely interrupted by a loud voice in German shouting through the door that there was a first-year meeting in the girl's common room. Gisela rolled her eyes but set her book down anyway, hopping up from her bed and exiting her room, at the same time as her only fellow single-roomer.
Gisela and the girl locked eyes, examining each other. The girl was a fair bit taller, with slick black hair tied back into a tight bun and blue eyes so big they almost looked unnatural, but beautiful all the same.
"Hello, I see we both prefer the privacy of our own room," she stated in German, but with an obvious thick accent.
"I couldn't imagine sharing," Gisela replied.
"I'm Olga, you are?"
"Gisela," she replied, in an almost perfect German accent.
"You're not with the rest of the Germans?" she asked, eyebrows raised in surprise.
"I'm not the most social," she replied, folding her hands together in anxiousness, "and I grew up in England."
"That makes two of us. I'm Russian but grew up in Paris, so I don't know anyone anywhere," she chuckled, before looking down the hall, "we should go join the girls."
Gisela nodded in agreement and followed Olga, painfully aware of how much smaller she was. Entering the large common room, they both approached unnoticed by the sixty or so girls in a very large circle in the centre of the room. They took a seat on the floor in an open spot, just in time for a tall girl to stand and clap her hands for attention. Gisela immediately knew she would not like this girl.
"Listen up! I thought we should all introduce ourselves to get to know our classmates. So, we shall go around and say our name and family, who our friends are, what city and country we come from and the subject and activity we are most looking forward to! I'll start," she exclaimed, rather obnoxiously. "My name is Eva Schindler, I have an older brother here, and my father is very senior in the Ministry. My friends are Charlotte Braun, Lisa Frank and Margot Keller - obviously sitting beside me - and we are all from Berlin in Germany. I am most looking forward to Dark Arts with the handsome Professor and my favourite activity is ballet!"
Her friends continued, with almost identical answers. It then moved on to the Bulgarians, led by a girl called Nadia, the Polish girls led by Paulina, the Romanians led my Elena, the Slavs led by a Croatian Marija, the Hungarians led by Vivian and the Czechoslovakians led by Sofie. Then there was a second group of Germans introduced, clearly not banding together like the other nationalities.
"My name is Irma Peters, I am an only child, and my father serves very high up in the army. My friends are Dorothea Ziegler, Ingrid and Astrid Hoffman - we are from Munich - and two new girls have joined our group, Leni Kuhn and Willhemina Coburg. Leni is from Frankfurt, and Willhemina grew up in Belgium. I am most looking forward to Charms, and my favourite activity is singing," she smirked, eyes boring in with a challenge at Eva's group across the room.
The final girls remaining were Olga and Gisela, looking at each other, both not wanting to speak. Reluctantly, Olga cleared her throat and prepared her speech quickly in her head, not wanting to seem too much the outsider.
"My name is Olga Kschessinskaya, my family lives in Paris but is originally from Russia. My friend is Gisela, sitting next to me. I am most looking forward to Transfiguration, and my favourite activity is ballet," she stated, then looking to Gisela.
"My name is Gisela, my family is German, but I grew up in London with my little brother, Tom. My friend is Olga. I am most looking forward to Potions, and my favourite activity is singing," she said, having never had the opportunity to participate in other rich-girl activities like Ballet, Waltzing, Piano, Violin and Chess. She was surprised the girls involved in such activities, but she supposed the Wizarding World wasn't so different from the Muggle. They were all being groomed for marriage here too.
The other girls stared with judgemental eyes at the two girls with such short and vague answers, and it didn't take long for some to start asking questions.
"So, Olga, if your Russian why aren't you at Koldostorez?" questioned Eva Schindler, her tone tormenting.
"Because my family prefers that I attend here," she replied dismissively, very aware of what the other girl was trying to do.
"But why not Beauxbatons if you lived in France?" Eva pressed.
"Because they have more German connections than French," she replied, clearly annoyed.
"Same with me. I also didn't go to Hogwarts because I have more German connections," Gisela interrupted, trying to defend Olga.
"And you," Irma Peters butted in from the other side of the circle, "what's your surname?"
"I go by Gisela, that's all," she replied, unfortunately attracting the attention of all the others.
"Why -"
"Clearly, this conversation is over," drawled Olga, "Gisela and I will retire to our rooms. See you at assembly tomorrow girls, have a pleasant sleep."
Gisela was thankful for her intervention and quickly followed her new friend out of the room. Once out of sight, they burst into giggles and escaped back to their rooms, Olga inviting Gisela into her room, still undecorated and unpacked.
"God, those German girls are total bitches," laughed Olga, "hopefully their too busy biting each other's heads off, so they leave us alone. Did you see Eva and Irma? The ringleaders seem to hate each other already. And those groups! I understand the separation by language; Sofie and the Czechoslovakians and Paulina and the Polish girls seem nice enough. But those Bulgarians and German girls - heavens!"
"They remind me of girls back home. Oh well, thankfully we don't have to associate them other than class," Gisela replied, unpleasant memories resurfacing.
"Oh, the classes will be fine. Most of those girls don't give a single thought to education, and we are separated into three separate streams next year. It's going to be activities with Madame Petrova where their competitive sides will show, it's all simply a competition of who is most marriageable for the boys. We won't associate with them other than at performances and balls, so its the only true way they can impress. Everything here separates gender, and girls can't even fly!" Olga exclaimed horrified.
"You are quite the suffragette. Well, my education matters most. I have never done anything besides singing of those activities anyway," said Gisela.
"You mean you've never danced?" exclaimed Olga, horrified. "Or played an instrument?"
"I never had the money for a musical upbringing," replied Gisela, wondering how best to avoid the subject.
"Oh, I must teach you basic ballet, or you will be so embarrassed in lessons! We must both put those girls in their place!" Olga replied enthusiastically. "Ballet is just wonderful. I'm properly trained in Russian ballet, my grandmother was an incredible ballerina and runs her own studio, so I'm sure I can trump those girls who brag but are nowhere near my level! I'll help you, of course, it's not your fault. So what did your parents teach you lessons-wise?"
"Well," Gisela replied, far quieter, "I never had any parents, just my brother. I learnt to read and write and speak German, that's it."
"Oh, I'm sorry! My mother passed away when I was little too; I really shouldn't be so insensitive. Is your brother coming to Durmstrang?" Olga replied, pity washing across her face.
"No need, I have no interest in my parents. My brother isn't my... blood brother... just an affectionate term. He's only nine but will go to Hogwarts most likely as he is English," she replied, her tone changing to one of sadness at the thought of Tom being left all alone in that dreadful place. Her heart clenched in desperation for a letter of reply.
"Oh, I'm so dreadfully sorry. It seems we both come from tragic pasts," she replied awkwardly. "Onto more positive subjects, would you like me to teach you the basics of ballet?"
"Yes, of course," Gisela smiles.
"Take your shoes off, and we can start with positions!" Olga clapped with excitement. "So first there are the positions..."
*
"Welcome to Durmstrang Institute, Gentlemen, Ladies. I am Headmaster Schwarzburg," the older man spoke, looking across the Great Hall at the fourteen tables of students. "We are the most prestigious institution of magical tuition, and I expect my students to perform to the standard expected of you. To all first years, and to remind our older students, I will run over our rules. The castles boundaries are heavily guarded, and no one is permitted to leave without explicit permission. If you attempt to leave, you will face appropriate punishment. Young men and ladies are not permitted to associate with each other until their fourth year, and the dormitories are heavily guarded with magic to uphold this. We are respectable young men and women at this school, and I won't have that tainted. Everyone is expected to participate in their allocated classes and extra-curricular lessons. You must have a written note from a teacher or a healer in the hospital wing if you are significantly late or miss a class. You will face detention if there is no reasonable explanation. Finally, Durmstrang's location is top secret. No one is allowed to tell anyone, even your families, where it is located. Anyone caught breaking this rule will face instant expulsion."
Gisela looked wide-eyed at Olga in response to the Headmaster's frankness but continued to listen to his opening speech with interest.
"I would also like to address the growing hostilities in both the Muggle and Magical worlds. Everyone is entitled to their opinions, but I will no accept blatant racism on these grounds. By racism, I mean both Magical and Nationality racism. We are a school of diverse background, our borders stretching from the far west of Germany to over the Soviet border. We stand united regardless of Muggle and Magical tensions, and that will continue through whatever is to come. Regarding Magical racism; every single one of you in this room is at least half-blood. For this reason, we usually have no problems, but I will not have any of this English blood supremacy infiltrating our world. You are all witches and wizards, from at least some magical descent. Enough said," he finished, clapping his hands that conjured food to appear in a ridiculous feast in front of Gisela's eyes.
She had never seen so much food in her life. Stacked up in piles of various treats she could never imagine eating at the orphanage, the whole display disgusted her. The plates of pastries and bread in front of her could feed her and Tom for a month. Tom was eating nothing but slop back home.
She nibbled on some toast with butter, unsure of what most of the food in front of her even was, other than the French pastries that she had seen in Paris. Her appetite had almost completely disappeared as she watched the children around her, even Olga, dug into their food as though it was perfectly normal. It made her angry, and she opened her timetable to try and distract her from her dark thoughts.
MISS GISELA. FIRST-YEAR GIRLS.
DARK ARTS with Professor Klaus: 8 am, Monday, Wednesday, Friday.
TRANSFIGURATION with Professor Hertz: 10 am, Monday, Wednesday, Friday.
CHARMS with Professor Klein: 1 pm, Monday, Wednesday, Friday.
POTIONS with Professor Sommer: 3 pm, Monday, Wednesday, Friday.
HISTORY OF MAGIC with Madame Mayer: 8 am, Tuesday, Thursday.
HERBOLOGY with Professor Glas: 10 am, Tuesday, Thursday.
CHOIR with Madame Petrova: 1 pm, Tuesday, Thursday.
LANGUAGES with Madame Petrova: 2 pm, Tuesday, Thursday.
BALLET with Madame Petrova: 3 pm, Tuesday, Thursday.
LADIES TRAINING with Madame Petrova: 6 pm, Friday evenings in Common Room.
Gisela was delighted to see her timetable was identical to Olga's, her mood brightening at the thought of her new companion helping her avoid the dreadful company of the spoilt bitches that had already started to gossip about her. Hopefully, the advice Klaus and Olga had given her would help her prove them all wrong. She had reread all her course books just in case, and hopefully, the 'extra-curricular' lessons would be easy enough to get through.
She couldn't wait to tell Tom about it all.