Zhenya and her brother had been walking in the park where a lot of his muggle friends hung around. They were laughing, telling jokes, and Dimitri was telling Zhenya that she will love Hogwarts. He had refused to tell her much about Hogwarts, not wanting to ruin anything for her.

Zhenya was happy one moment and the next moment, she was screaming. Dimitri saw someone, tensed up, and marched towards him. Without so much of a pause, he thumped him square on the nose.

“FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!” someone yelled, and immediately a whole group of people surrounded them.

Zhenya had all her things packed in about 7 large trunks. She was moving to Russia to live with her Grandparents. She was nervous because she hadn’t spent too much time with them before now; only the Summers and Christmas breaks when she went up with Dimitri.

“Have you got everything?” her mother asked.
Zhenya shrugged. How did she know? Her mother had packed her trunks. Zhenya wasn’t allowed to touch anything.

“Zhenya! Don’t you know?” she said frustrated, before going through her list for the 89th time. Zhenya rolled her eyes impatiently. She wanted to be in Russia already!

A month before she went off to Hogwarts, Zhenya returned to Russia with her mother for the night to visit her family. She made sure her telescope was tucked into her pocket before the stepped into the Floo network. When she was there she spent a long time with her family until it was bed time.

Instead of going to sleep, Zhenya snuck out onto the roof and lied down. She pulled her telescope up and looked out of it, trying to find the star of her Gradpapi and Babushka.

She found a bright star, the Northern Star, and watched.

The chase was on! Zhenya was sprinting as fast as her legs would carry her. Where was that menace? WHERE WAS HE?

“GORDY! WHERE ARE YOU?” She shouted, chasing after him. She had run after him, following his direction, but as quick at running she was - he was like a lightning bolt.

She chased him after he tried to kiss her. It was disgusting! And she wanted to tell him it was gross.

Just as she ran around the next corner, he jumped out in front of her, and she fell backwards, hitting her head on the pavement, and screamed.

Zhenya stood up and scowled at Gordy.
“YOU KISSED ME!” she yelled at him.
He smiled at her and puckered his lips, making a kissing sound.

She gasped, MORTIFIED at what he was doing, pulled up her hand and slapped him across the face. He started to cry.

“OWW BURTIE WHY DID YOU DO THAT?” He sobbed.
She crossed her hands, poked out her tongue, and ran away. She was suddenly scared he would go home and tell his mother, who would tell her mother, who would yell at Zhenya, who would be grounded. She reluctantly turned around to apologise.

But Gordy wasn’t there. Realising he must have ran the other way and gone home, feeling very nervous.

Just as she had expected, when she entered the door her mother was on her like lightning.
“What were you THINKING?” she yelled. “You are grounded Zhenya Burton!”

“But mama he tried to KISS ME! TO KISS ME!!” Zhenya screamed, refusing to be blamed for what happened. “If I had a time turner I would go back in time and fix it somehow. But I don’t, so how do you suppose I put it right? HUH?” She said, giving her mother attitude.

Many years later, when Zhenya looked back on that first almost-kiss with Gordy through her pensieve, she had smiled warmly and lovingly at the boy she now calls her husband. The way he went beetroot red the moment before he leaned over to try and kiss her, and the look of horror he wore when she backed away repulsed. He looked so cute as he stood up, trying not to cry, and ran away from her.

She laughed when her 7-year-old self stood up, stamping her foot and chasing after Gordy. She took Gordy there to see.

“So how was your second year? Did you like the carriages?” Dimitri asked, when they got to Burton Cottage.

“Yeah it was good! Quidditch is SO much fun, Dima, wow. And they’re good. Except it’s kind of freaky being pulled along by nothing,” she said.
Both her brother and her father looked at her and explained that no, in fact, they weren’t pulled along by nothing. “You feel the pulling, don’t you? As if it felt like it was being pulled by a horse,” Dimitri asked.
“Yes.”

“It’s called a Thestral,” said Alexander.
“A what?” said Lisabel and Zhenya.

“A Thestral,” Alexander repeated. “It’s an invisible winged creature which pulls along the carriage.”
“But how can they be invisible? How do you know it has wings?”
“Someone can only see them if they have witnessed death,” Dimitri explained.

Zhenya suddenly felt very fearful. “Witnessed d..death?” she asked, gulping loudly.
The men nodded together.
“How… have you seen them?” she asked.
“My sister was killed right before me,” Alexander said simply. Zhenya had known this.
“My friend’s grandfather died in front of us. He had a heart attack, as the muggles called it,” Dima said. Zhenya had never known this.

Finally, someone came along to help. Dimitri had got some good punches in, but this other guy didn’t get the chance to hit Dimitri.

“GET OFF!” Yelled someone in a uniform. Zhenya looked at him strangely. Who was he?
“No more fighting,” he said throwing the teenagers apart. “You, what’s your name?” he asked Dimitri, who frowned at him. He didn’t have to answer to muggle police - he only had to answer to the Ministry of Magic… and of course, his mother. But she wouldn’t need to know about this.

The police officer tried grabbing him, but he disappeared.

Zhenya walked up to the Policeman who thought he could cuff Dimitri. She pulled something out of her pocket and touched it to his hand.

His hand violently jerked out of Zhenya’s way, and he looked down at her - pain in his eyes. “What do you think you’re DOING young lady? How dare you hurt an officer,” he said.

She giggled at him and did it again. She zapped him with her zapper, laughing. She didn’t want him to get away with pulling apart the fight. Dimitri needed to vent someway about his girlfriend cheating on him. Punching was venting.

“Yes, so you add two - yes add one more blob of the flubberworm mucous, good, then add some standard ingredient; yes just two pinches, good Burtie. Now simmer for 30 seconds,” Zhenya’s Grandpapi was explaining to her.

“Can I drink it tonight?” Zhenya asked, hoping to sleep well.
“Maybe not Burtie - we shall give it to your Babushka instead,” he replied, ruffling her hair and smiling at her kindly. “Okay, now add three measures of the ingredients you crushed together; yes just thee pinches will do fine, see?” he said, looking at the potion and seeing that it was perfect.

Zhenya muttered, “Grandpapi, you’re right - Babushka DOES need this potion tonight.”
He chuckled lightly as he poured some of the sleeping draught potion they made into a flask of hot chocolate, and gave it to her. It tasted repulsive to him, but his wife loved it for some strange reason.

She snatched it from his hand and gulped it down. “Get to bed Zhenya,” she snapped at her granddaughter. Zhenya’s mouth turned down and she ran upstairs.

She heard footsteps, and knew it was her Grandpapi, who came into her room and said “Sorry Burtie - she is very snappish lately.”

Our Dear Zhenya,

We can’t believe you did this in Transfiguration! It is beautiful. We are so happy you made us this frame. And you designed it? Well - it certainly is perfect darling.
And you made Dimitri one too? I’m sure he will love it, wherever he is. No - we haven’t heard anything from him lately, but he will be fine. That’s just Dima, sweetie.

What else have you been learning in Transfiguration? You know; transfiguration is my favourite kind of magic. So I’m pleased to see and hear you are doing so well.

All our love,
Mum and Dad

The day Dimitri turned seventeen, Zhenya had started to pester him.

“Show me! Show me!” Zhenya yelled at her brother, bouncing excitedly on his bed. He was sitting at his desk, holding his wand.
“Why?” he asked with a smile.
“You’re 17 now, you’re legally allowed to cast spells outside of Hogy-warts!” Zhenya said.

He pointed his wand at her, and laughed. She stopped jumping and stood like a star.
“GO FOR IT!” she said loudly and bravely. She knew her brother would never hurt her. He would be too scared of their mother.

“Levicorpus!” he said at her.

Once Zhenya and her Grandpapi had run away from her angry Babushka, who seemed to be angry that they had used her things to dress their snowman, they stopped near a nearby village. They HAD run far!

Zhenya smiled mischievously and bent over to scoop up a snowball. Whilst her Grandpapi was busy looking at the trunk of a tree that was apparently very interesting, she pelted it at the back of his head. It got him on his shoulder! She thought that was funny enough, and fell to the floor laughing.

He threw a snowball on her face.

“I want to get FUDGE!” Zhenya said hungrily to Laura. Seriously, she had such a sweet tooth which was really playing up all of a sudden. Maybe she just wasn’t getting her fix at Hogwarts, though that seemed impossible.

They made their way from Madam Puddifoots to Honeydukes, where Zhenya was overcome by the amazingness that WAS Honeydukes! She picked up a huge slab of double choc fudge, and mint chocolate fudge, waddled up to the counter and payed for them.

She kept going back to the counter to pay for more. How was she going to get it back?

The funeral had been yesterday.

Knock Knock.
“What?”
Alexander and Lisabel walked into her room and sat next to her. She was so depressed she didn’t even realise them put something in front of her until they told her to open it.
She looked up at them, about to question them, when she saw it. A big box… “What’s this?” she asked.
“Just open it Zhen,” her father said, rubbing her back.

She opened it, and out came a gold cauldron, with engraved “Professor Metanova, Thank you for your 50 years of dedication. Best wishes; Staff and Students of SSoW&W”

“I’m sorry Zhenya. But you… slapped me,” Gordy said, trying to apologise for dobbing on her.
“You kissed me without my permission,” she said firmly. Then she pointed a finger in his face and said “Listen Gordy - I’m warning you - don’t EVER try to kiss me again or I’ll do more than just slap you one.” She stayed pointing at him for a minute to let the point sink in.

She backed away, looking at him through narrowed eyes, turned around letting her hair flip out, and walked home; out of Gordy’s house. She smiled all the way home.

“Where did you get that scar from?” Zhenya said, poking Dimitri’s cheek. It was thin and long.
“I got whomped,” he said, smiling. His mother tisked impatiently. She was angry about the entire thing, obviously.
“What do you mean you got whomped? DO THE PROFESSORS USE THE CANE?” she asked, mortified at the possibility.
“No, it was a willow.”
“What was? The Cane?”
“NO! The willow whomped me.”
“How did it do that?” she asked.
“Whom me?”
“Yeah?”
“It’s a whomping willow,” he said, puzzled she didn’t yet know this.

“A whomping willow?” she said, laughing.
“Yes,” he said slowly.

“Mummy can you colour with me?” Zhenya asked her mother.
“No, I need to lay down Zhenya. How about you draw with your father?”
“What’s wrong Lisa?” Alexander asked.
She slumped into the reclining lounge chair, something she never did, and sighed loudly. “I just had a bad day with the children. They really vexed me,” she complained.
He raised his eyebrows. She had always loved her job so much, he never knew she had any problems with it. But - apparently she did.
“Why don’t you take a week off or something?” he asked.
“I couldn’t do that to Billy.”

Zhenya and Gordy went to a fantastic restaurant. She had hidden her wand, and dressed herself up in her fancy clothes. Gordy was looking handsome in a suit. When they had got there, he opened her door for her, helped her out, and pulled her chair out for her.

He had them bring some wine, and menus. Zhenya thanked the waitress who put down two champagne glasses and a bottle, and placed menus in front of them. She looked through the menu, deciding what she wanted as Gordy poured the wine for her.

He took her out a lot.

Well, now that he had a promotion. He had muggle money and wanted to spoil Zhenya, who never seemed to have much. What he didn’t know is that she had plenty; it just wasn’t muggle money.

“Zhenya, I l- I l-” he tried saying. “Ss-Zhenya, I’m trying to say is, what I do love-ss-ssssssss-so much,” he tried to say again.
She smiled at him, almost laughing, and said “Gordy, you sound like a parseltongue,” then bit her tongue hard. Oops.
“A what?” he said, having his voice back.
“Oh nothing,” she said, waving her hand.

That had really given him his voice back. He smiled at her, going a bit pink, and stood up. She took another sip of her wine. He was such a romantic person that it didn’t surprise her when he stood. Maybe he was going to rub her shoulders or something. But he didn’t. He got down onto one knee and held out a box. Inside was a sapphire engagement ring.

“What are you doing with Babushka’s enga… GORDY!” She said, dropping her wine with her heart beating cheerfully. She had a huge smile on her face.
“Will you marry me?”

“ZHENYA!! I’m so happy!” Dimitri yelled, picking her up and spinning her around. He plopped her back on her feet and gave Gordy a hug. But then he thought he should do the big brother thing, and he said to him, “Okay Gordy, I’m so pleased you are going to be marrying my sister, believe me. But if you intentionally hurt our Zhenny at all- I might have to Duel you.”

Gordy frowned. “Dimitri, I would never hurt her. Never! But… what’s a duel?”
Dimitri’s face went blank, realising his mistake. He smiled and waved it off, and walked away.