The very last day of attending Durmstrang had showed her how much she had meant not only to the school, but the friends she made.
As she stood in the great hall for the goodbye dinner. Everyone she had helped, talked with, fought against and with stood there to say goodbye to her.
Even people she had fights with. And they didn't even look mad about it.
"A toast, to Ophelia Grindelwald. for coming here and leaving as someone unforgettable." Ursal said out loud while raising her glass of whatever they had mixed together.
"Cheers!" echoed through the hall.
This little feast had been allowed by the headmaster himself, even ordering the kitchen to prepare something better than the usual slop they served.
Fila stood near the center table with a cup in her hand, feeling the weight of every eye in the room. The Great Hall looked different tonight. The usual harsh lighting had been softened. Extra dishes crowded the tables — actual roasted meat, proper bread, even a few desserts that didn't look like they had been punished into existence. Someone had gone as far as hanging a few Durmstrang banners that weren't torn or singed.
Ursal lowered her glass, grinning.
"Speech!" someone shouted from the back.
A few others took it up immediately.
Fila stared at them.
"No."
"Speech!"
Aleksei, standing just to her right, made no effort to hide his amusement.
"They're not going to stop," he said under his breath.
Fila exhaled through her nose, raised her cup a little higher, and waited for the noise to die down. When it finally did, she spoke in the same flat, carrying voice she used on the training fields.
"I came here because I wanted to get stronger. I stayed because most of you made it worth the cold, the bruises, and the food." She paused. "Some of you. The rest of you just made the bruises more interesting."
A ripple of laughter moved through the hall.
"But, you have all shown me what real comradery looks like. Even in the toughest of times. You are all strong. Not stronger than me, but still strong." She raised her cup. "Cheers to all of you, I will be back."
The hall answered at once. Cups lifted. Someone near the back shouted her name. A few of the older students actually thumped the tables hard enough to make the plates jump. The sound rolled through the Great Hall like a small storm.
Fila drank.
The mixture in her cup was strong and slightly sweet. She didn't ask what was in it.
Ursal threw an arm around her shoulders and shook her once, grinning wide.
"You will be back," she said. "We'll make sure the place is still standing. Mostly."
Aleksei stayed quieter, but when Fila glanced his way he gave her a small nod. The kind that meant he had heard the promise and intended to hold her to it.
Hanna pushed a plate into her hands before anyone else could demand another speech.
"Eat," she ordered. "Before they start the gifts."
Too late.
A second-year approached first, red-faced, and shoved a carefully wrapped bundle at her — a set of self-heating gloves. Then a fifth-year with a scar across his eyebrow offered a small iron charm "for luck" Someone else handed over a vial of the good bruise salve that the nurses usually hoarded. The gifts were practical. Durmstrang gifts. No flowers. No poetry. Fila preferred it that way.
She never liked getting gifts like this, because she could never really say thank you well and just sat there awkwardly and nodded in return.
Later into the evening most had gone to their rooms or sat collected around Ophelia and talked about stories. Some about the team skirmishes they had, others about the ongoing exams.
They all wanted her to stay, but knew well enough that she couldn't.
But something in them seemed stronger.
Aleksei who sat beside her nudged her, "Hey, if you ever need help. Just send an owl alright?"
He looked so sad and happy at the same time, his blue eyes almost sparkling.
And before she could answer more joined. "Yeah, if you need us you know where to find us."
"I will be ready."
"Count on me."
Before she could look around they all started giving in.
The promises came blunt and overlapping, the way Durmstrang students did most things — no grand declarations, just solid offers dropped onto the table like weapons.
Fila sat in the middle of it, still holding the half-empty cup, and felt the unfamiliar weight of being on the receiving end.
She cleared her throat.
"I heard you," she said. "All of you. If I need help, I'll send word. And if any of you end up in trouble worth crossing the North Sea for… you know how to reach me."
That earned a few short laughs and a couple of satisfied nods.
Aleksei's shoulder stayed against hers. He didn't add anything else. He didn't need to.
The talk drifted after that — back to skirmish stories, the upcoming exams, a heated debate about whether the new first-years were softer than last year's. Ordinary noise. Comfortable noise. Fila let it wash over her while she finished the food Hanna had given her and accepted one last round of the strong, sweet drink.
Eventually the hall began to empty. Students drifted out in ones and twos. The house-elves moved in with quiet efficiency. The banners hung still in the cooling air.
Ursal was one of the last to leave. She clapped Fila on the back hard enough to shift her on the bench.
"Dawn, then. Don't be late. Karkaroff gets ugly when portkeys wait."
"I won't."
Hanna, Sofia and Stina gave her quicker, tighter hugs and left without making a speech. Practical to the end.
When it was mostly quiet, Aleksei stood and offered a hand.
Fila took it and let him pull her up.
They walked out of the Great Hall together. The corridors were darker now, lit by the usual low torches. Their footsteps echoed in a way that felt final.
At the split that led toward the different dormitories, they stopped.
"Six hours," Aleksei said. "Get some sleep."
They stood turned to each other, not saying another word.
The corridor was quiet. Somewhere far off a door closed. The torches along the wall flickered, throwing slow shadows across the stone.
Aleksei's hand was still loosely holding hers from when he had pulled her up. He didn't let go. Fila didn't pull away either.
She could feel the usual weight of everything she was leaving — the cold, the bruises, the strange friends, the crater under the eastern wing — and under it something simpler and harder to name. His shoulder had been against hers most of the night. His voice had stayed steady when everyone else's got loud. He had never asked her to be softer than she was.
Aleksei looked at her the way he always did when he was deciding something carefully.
"I'm going to miss you," he said. Quiet. Direct. No decoration.
Fila's throat felt tight for a second.
"Yeah," she answered. "Me too."
He gave a small breath that might have been a laugh, then lifted his free hand and brushed a bit of dust from the edge of her blindfold. The touch was light. Familiar. Different.
Neither of them moved for a moment.
Then Fila shifted forward the last small distance and kissed him.
It was brief. A little clumsy at first, like most things she did when she wasn't fighting. His hand tightened around hers, then settled at her waist. The kiss deepened just enough to stop being careful. When they finally pulled apart, their foreheads stayed close.
Aleksei's voice was lower than before.
"Write when you get there."
"I will."
He nodded once, squeezed her hand, and stepped back.
Fila watched him walk down his corridor until the shadows took him. She stood alone for another few seconds, feeling the quiet press of the castle around her, then turned toward her own dormitory.
Being able to sleep even a wink proved very hard after something like that. But in some way she found herself standing in the headmasters office bright and early.
"You ready?" he asked in a calm voice. A voice he had learnt to use since she came here. before he sounded a lot more harsh and stern.
"Yes."
Karkaroff studied her for a moment, hands folded on the desk. The usual sharp edge in his expression was still there, but quieter than it had been the day she arrived.
Fila stood not in her red uniform anymore, that had been packed into her case. But now for the first time in months she wore her dark blue Ilvermorny uniform again. blue skirt, deep red vest with a deep blue shirt.
He scoffed when looking at her, "You suit more in red and black. But yes, here is the port key." He slid it across his desk. "It will take you to the village of Hogsmeade just outside the school, they said a professor will meet you. but if not I think you will find your way." he said as she took the key.
Fila looked at it, "Thank you for this time headmaster, ive learnt a lot."
Karkaroff leaned back in his chair, studying the Ilvermorny colors with open disapproval.
"You learned enough to be dangerous in a more organized way. That will have to do." He gestured at the portkey. "Don't lose it. Don't activate it indoors. And try not to arrive at Hogwarts by creating a crater in their courtyard. Dumbledore is tolerant, not foolish."
Fila slipped the portkey into her pocket.
"I'll do my best."
"That," Karkaroff said dryly, "is what concerns me."
He stood and walked her to the door of the office. In the corridor the early light was thin. A few students lingered at a distance — Ursal with her arms crossed, Hanna and Sofia side by side, Stina half-hidden behind them. Aleksei stood a little apart, hands in his pockets, watching her in silence.
Karkaroff gave them all a brief, dismissive glance and then looked back at Fila.
"The castle will still be here when you decide the soft life is boring. Don't take too long."
"I won't."
He nodded once, turned, and closed the office door with a solid thud.
Fila walked toward the front entrance. The small group followed until she reached the open steps. No one made a long speech. Ursal only raised a hand. Hanna gave a short nod. Sofia and Stina offered the same practical silence they always had.
Aleksei held her gaze a moment longer than the others. The corner of his mouth lifted, just slightly. Fila returned it.
Then she stepped clear of the group, drew the portkey from her pocket, and turned it over in her fingers.
The iron was cold.
"Hogsmeade," she said under her breath.
The hard, familiar pull took her at once. Durmstrang's gray courtyard and watching faces folded away into nothing.
And then, warmth.
When she finally opened her eyes, the little village of Hogsmeade stood before her. Like an old medieval town forgotten by modernization. The smells were something else, candy, grass and butterbeer. Early summer really made this look so magical in the most magical way possible.
Fila stood still for a moment on the quiet street, letting the new air settle around her. After months of Durmstrang's biting cold and stone, the warmth felt almost suspicious. Flowers hung from window boxes. A cat watched her from a sunny doorstep. Somewhere nearby a door opened and the smell of fresh bread rolled out into the street.
She adjusted her Ilvermorny vest and started walking.
The village was already awake. A few witches and wizards moved between the shops with baskets and packages. Someone laughed from an open window. The wooden signs above the doors were carved and painted in a style that felt older and softer than anything at Durmstrang. No iron. No frost. No one looking ready for a fight.
Fila kept her pace steady, magic sight quietly mapping the street. The portkey had dropped her near the edge of the village.
She had almost reached the end of the main road when a tall figure in dark robes stepped out from the shadow of a shop porch.
"Miss Grindelwald, I presume."
The voice was calm, dry, and faintly amused.
Fila stopped.
The man was slightly older, black hair slicked back, dark robes and clothes. And he smelled of herbs and everything else.
"Professor," she said.
"Severus Snape," he answered. "I was asked to meet you, The headmaster didn't say why. Only that I bring you to his office. So lets not waste time." he held out his arm.
Ophelia knew about this, apparition magic. "Professor that wont be needed, I know how to follow traces." she said highly. She had trained it a lot, to be able to follow others apparitions.
He looked slightly surprised but didn't let it go noticed.
"Is that so," Snape said, voice flat. "Then by all means, Miss Grindelwald. Try not to lose the trail and end up in the lake. The giant squid is particular about uninvited guests."
He turned on his heel and Disapparated with a sharp crack.
Fila felt the residual magic hang in the air for a fraction of a second — clean, precise, and already fading. She locked onto it the way she had practiced at Durmstrang, reached for the same thread, and pulled.
The world compressed and snapped.
She landed a half-step behind him on a wide stone path. Hogwarts rose ahead of them in the morning light, towers and windows catching the sun.
"That's so beautiful." Fila murmured as she took in the sight of the entrance to the school.
Snape glanced back at her, one eyebrow faintly raised.
"Adequate," he said.
He started walking toward the castle without further comment.
Fila fell into step beside him, taking in the grounds. The lake stretched out to the left, black and still. Students in black robes moved between the greenhouses and the main doors in small groups. A few of them slowed when they noticed the unfamiliar blue-and-red uniform and the blindfold.
Snape ignored the stares.
"You will be housed in the guest quarters near the Headmaster's office for the present," he said. "Sorting is unnecessary for a short exchange, though Dumbledore has a habit of making unnecessary things happen. Try not to hex anyone before lunch. It creates paperwork."
"I'll do my best."
"That," Snape replied, "is what Karkaroff wrote as well. I remain unconvinced."
They passed through the great oak doors and into the cooler stone of the entrance hall. The castle felt different from Durmstrang — older in some places, softer in others, full of quiet movement and distant voices. Staircases shifted somewhere above them. A suit of armor tracked Fila with an empty helmet as they passed.
But she felt it, the magic of this school felt so vastly unfamiliar that she almost walked into a pole trying to look at everything.
Snape led her up a series of stairs and along a corridor lined with portraits that whispered behind their frames. At the end of a final short staircase he stopped before a large gargoyle.
"Sherbet lemon."
The gargoyle leapt aside. The wall behind it split open onto a moving spiral staircase.
Snape gestured her forward.
"After you, Miss Grindelwald. The Headmaster is expecting you. Try not to disappoint him immediately."
Fila stepped onto the staircase and began to rise toward the office above, the weight of a new school settling around her like a second set of robes.
She knew she wasn't staying here for long so why did this professor talk to her as an exchange student? Maybe in the short time it would be easier just to call her that.
The spiral staircase carried them upward in a slow, steady turn.
The staircase stopped at a polished wooden door. Snape knocked once.
With a gentle swing it opened.
The office was warm and crowded with strange silver instruments that emitted soft puffs of smoke. A large phoenix dozed on a golden perch near the window. Behind the wide desk sat Albus Dumbledore, half-moon spectacles perched on his nose, looking as if he had been expecting her for some time.
"Miss Grindelwald," he said, rising with a mild smile. "Welcome to Hogwarts. I trust the journey was uneventful?"
"Very much, even got to see the lovely town of Hogsmeade." She said and sat down.
Dumbledore's smiled deepened, "Good, Hogsmeade usually has that effect on first time, and every time visitors. But I am surprised, Karkaroff said that you are usually a bit more dramatic." He said slyly.
Fila shook her head, "I have no idea where he would get such an impression of me. I might have blasted away some doors once or twice, but other then that im as nice as a cat." She said with a wide smile.
Dumbledore's eyes twinkled behind his half-moon spectacles.
"Ah, yes. Cats are famously gentle creatures. Especially the ones with sharp claws and a tendency to knock valuable objects off shelves." He steepled his fingers. "I think you will fit right in here, and on that note." He stood up and walked to the window.
He looked out of it before speaking again, "As you know. The reason I asked you to come here is to help, or try to. Help our little Harry Hotter. You remember?" he asked while looking back at her.
She nodded. "Yes, something about a weird spell protecting him."
Albus nodded. "Indeed. His home and here is the only places truly safe to him, and I would like to see if we can expand that. Making him feel safe everywhere would be the best."
Fila leaned back in the chair, considering.
"You want me to look at the protection spell on him."
"I do." Dumbledore remained by the window, watching the grounds below. "The magic his mother left behind is old, powerful, and poorly understood. It is tied to blood and sacrifice. It has kept him alive longer than many expected. But it is not infinite, and it is not portable. Outside the places where it is strongest, he remains… vulnerable."
"And you think I can do something about that."
"I think," Dumbledore said carefully, "that you have an unusual relationship with living magic and with the kind of force that does not always follow the rules written in textbooks. Ive seen it, and heard from your headmaster Fontaine. I think you are the best hope."
Fila now looked on the phoenix sitting now on his little sitting stick or whatever you should want to call it. she had never seen one like this. orange like a raging fire, just like the magic inside Dumbledore.
"But you cant let him know this, so ive created a sort of fake exchange student situation for you. even the professor think this is the case. Only you and me know." He said a bit quiet this time.
This explained why professor Severus snape had called her one.
"So… im going to try to find something while being hidden, or not to let anyone know?" She asked.
Dumbledore turned fully from the window.
"You will not be hidden. You will simply be what most people already assume you are — a visiting student with an unusual background and a short stay. The fewer people who know the true reason, the safer the work remains. Professor Snape knows only that you are here at my request. Professor McGonagall believes you are an exchange student observing British magical education. The rest of the staff and students will draw their own conclusions. They usually do."
Fila nodded slowly.
"And the boy?"
Albus took a deep breath, "He knows very little at this point, and its best we keep it that way for now. He will find out more in due time, but not now."
The phoenix gave a soft, musical cry and shifted on its perch. Fila felt the heat of its magic brush against her own for a second — bright, clean, and utterly unlike the cold bindings she had handled at Durmstrang.
She sighed, "I will try, not because of Harry but because I'm curious about this myself. Alright so how do I start."