It was silly for Aliya to pretend that she could focus all of her energies on preparing for the upcoming tournament and coldly ignore the social aspects of the game present. If anything, the Oberteil took the latter aspect even more seriously than some of her classmates and since arriving, she had taken every opportunity to assert herself in the capacity of her school's ambassador among the other students.

Of course, her good natured intentions for such social interactions were soured dramatically when her betrothed, Fyetka Strelnikov, was routinely mentioned in conversations. The most disturbing part about the gossip was the fact that he was rarely connected to Aliya, as he should be given that they were "together".

To some degree, Aliya understood that the girls of the other school might not know or care about the concept of being betrothed to someone. But to hear some of them gossip about Fyetka as if he were readily available for their taking when he truly wasn't did manage to stoke the fires of Aliya's jealously. It was the one trait the Grumman beauty exhibited that showed flashes of her family's temperamental ways that few wanted to encounter.

Most of her Durmstrang classmates had learned early enough not to test Aliya and Fyetka's relationship. But now she was at a new school with scores of foreign ladies to contend with.

The thought of setting them straight unsettled her and usually when she was worried about something, she went to Fyetka to discuss it. But what was one to do when he was the source of her distress?

Aliya thought long and hard about who she could share her feelings with and eventually she decided that even if he was at the heart of the matter, he was and always would be her protector and closest confidant.

That morning before she had left the Durmstrang stronghold to explore Hogsmeade, Aliya had left a note for Fyetka requesting that he meet her in the little village for lunch. Around noon time, Aliya walked from store front to store front to admire the window displays and patiently waited for her other half to show up.

It wasn't a hard concept for Fyetka to grasp, being betrothed. In fact, he had been promised to Aliya for nearly as long as he could remember. Even when they played together as children, Fyetka had known that someday he was going to have to marry her. Being a buisness deal between families was a common thing for Purebloods, so Durmstrang's Strata had never questioned it. Second nature, like breathing.

So why the Hell was it so hard for foreign girls to understand? He had never had this problem back home. He was a flirt and he knew. He played with hearts like he did Quidditch balls, but everyone knew that he wasn't serious. If they didn't, they'd learn fast enough. Aliya wasn't exactly known for her Grumman temperament, but she usually made it very clear that Fyetka was her territory.

Fyetka could feel a headache materializing. It was impossible to not have a headache with this mess. Ever since he had recieved that innocent little message requesting that he meet his betrothed in Hogsmeade (the root of all his problems), he hadn't stopped thinking about every little thing he had done or said in the past twenty days. He was just acting his normal self!

Foreign girls and their inability to believe that, yes, archaic values still exsisted and, no, he hadn't stopped to consider whether they knew about it or not... So, of course, he was to blame.

He saw Aliya standing in front of a window, openly admiring the various displays. Hogsmeade certainly could clean itself up for such a small town. As quietly as he could, he came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist and spun her around.

     

As she looked in the window of one of the shops, Aliya contemplated gifts for her family and closest friends, Fyetka included. The problem was that there were so many little trinkets that it was hard to decide who would like what best. She was no stranger to shopping sprees, but usually she was in the trendiest cities in the world with everything valuable and fashionable at her disposal. Being in a quaint little village with novelty shops and the like was an entirely new experience. It was quite enthralling.

Momentarily, her concerns of the gossip regarding her beloved Fyetka were put to the side as she made mental notes connecting gifts to individuals. Even these mental notations were strategically and neatly organized for later retrieval.

She was just about to head inside the shop for a closer look at an item she saw when she felt a pair of arms wrap around her. "Oh!" She gasped as she turned to see the familar and lovable face of Fyetka Strelnikov himself.

It didn't take long for the surprise in her own face to fade away and she relaxed in his embrace. It was one that felt safe and natural to her and Aliya barely hesitated to wrap her arms around his neck for a hug. She brought her lips to kiss his cheek and then murmured in their native tongue, "There you are, my love. I was beginning to wonder if you had been abducted....as I have hardly seen you since we've arrived."

Fyetka laughed as Aliya jumped in suprise at his arrival. It was small moments like this that made him triply happy he was "stuck" with the other Russian rather than any other girl in the school. Both of them had the sunniest dispositions in the entirety of the school. Maybe it was because they had grown up with eachother in the first place? One could only wonder.

He took a brief look in the store window and smirked. Of course she would be doing some shopping even in a tiny little town like this. It was a far cry from St. Petersburg. He had an older sister and various female cousins and the lure was strong in all of them. Was it a pureblooded thing or just a woman thing? His guess was the latter, although he supposed having pureblooded fortunes expediated the addiction shopping caused.

He smiled as she kissed his cheek and responded in Russian. "If I would have been abducted, love, the whole world would have known within minutes." He chuckled and wrapped his arms tighter around her. "And you must know that distance makes the heart grow fonder... granted we've been confined to this damned town for nearly a month now."

He glanced around him. "We're a long way from St. Petersburg, aren't we, love?"

A simple look at Fyetka Strelnikov could make Aliya Grumman smile and her heart flutter. She had never known love or affection with anyone else so she had nothing else to compare it to. But when it was with him, nothing or no one else mattered quite so much. What else did she need but the one person who understood her better than even her own family? He was someone who made her feel safe and special and loved and it was hard to imagine anything better than that.

Yet, when she wasn't with Fyetka, it was hard to keep the thoughts of what life would be like without him at bay. Because that would never happen, right? They were going to be together no matter what and it was silly to think otherwise. But she often did and these thoughts could manage to sink the usually sunny Aliya into bouts of dispair. She hated them and wished to avoid them at all costs.

Aliya hugged Fyetka fiercely, something that was likely very easy to underestimate given her slender frame.  But as with all of her ancestors, she was quite passionate in her feelings and when she displayed them, they were very emphatic indeed. Fyetka's words had a soothing quality about them even as he brushed away the concerns of growing distance.

"That's right. No one could allow the great Fyetka Strelnikov to be gone for too long before they send out a search party for him," she joked back. Her expression became serious again when St. Petersburg was mentioned. "Yes, very far away. And I fear that a lot is going to change this year."

Fyetka loved the effect he had on Aliya. Maybe it was just his power-hungry genes talking, but he loved watching her melt whenever he looked at her. He loved the way that she blushed when he teased her and the way she melted into him whenever he held her close. They were the luckiest betrotheds in the entire world. Not so many were as lucky as they had been to be promised to the other at such an early age where they had never had time to develop feelings of indifference for the other. He knew of some classmates who had only become betrothed in the recent year to people the knew from school (and in some cases had no care for) and even some from other schools. That would have been absolutley terrible, he thought.

True, he had wondered what life would have been like without Aliya and he was internally grateful for her. Without the constancy she gave him, he probably would have turned out like his Uncle Taras, laying whatever pair of pretty legs he found. And lots of veelas. Good lord.

He smirked at Aliya's sarcasm. "Well, what would Durmstrang do without their Quidditch Champion?" He laughed. "Could you imagine what our coach would do to us if we lost to the likes of Hogwarts?" Joking aside, he noticed the quick change in the other Russian's disposition. "I'm sure it will." He paused slightly. "Everything changes every year, Aliya, love, and I'm sure this year will be no exception." A small smile appeared on his face. "And think, winters here are ten times milder." 

Aliya giggled as Fyetka boasted about his Quidditch prowess. Being boastful about one's abilities at a school like Durmstrant was nothing new, but when someone like Fyetka did it, it had less of a conceited air about it. Perhaps it was part of his Strelnikov charm but it certainly lent itself to what made him attractive.

"Without you, we would be doomed in the physical challenges," she assured him. Aliya wasn't one to think that her male counterparts were superior, but it didn't hurt to stroke his ego just a bit. With her arms more loosely about his neck, she placed a series of sweet kisses along his angled jaw.

Aliya did not say anything at first in response to his attempts to sooth her. Was he making light of her concerns or did he understand the true nature of her worries?

But finally she returned his smile. "You are right. Change always happens. I guess this year just feels different because it's our last one at school.....and we're here." She leaned in to rest her forehead against his. "I just hope I'm ready for it all."