Baxter had been more than happy to offer his services to aid with the tutoring program this year. He had been hoping he might get to work with a student from another school, and when given his tutoring assignment found that his wishes were granted. The name he'd gotten belonged to a fourth year from Durmstrang named Emilija Cihala. Baxter had absolutely no clue how to pronounce her first or her last name, nor did he know what she looked like. Seeking her out for tutoring would have been too difficult and social a task for the young Ravenclaw, so once he'd been assigned her name he had sent her an owl asking her to meet him in the empty classroom on the first floor after dinner on the tenth of September. He had even drawn a diagram so that she could find the classroom with ease.

He wasn't sure what the Durmstrang curriculum covered, or if he would be of very much help to the girl- but he was certainly going to try to do his very best to aid her. Today he was planning to find out a little more about her, what she needed help in, and then he'd plan out something for them to do afterward. And set up a tutoring schedule which would work well for the both of them, considering that he likely had a lot of the same classes.

Baxter was waiting patiently, sitting in one of the spare desks in the room. He had brought along his books for all of his classes, just in case, as well as his wand. When he saw her enter, he stood up, and offered a light (though very awkward) smile, holding out his hand to her. "I'm Baxter Fox," he said, introducing himself. "I'm a Fourth Year Ravenclaw."

Emilija had neatly folded up the diagram her tutor had drawn and slipped it into her robes before she left the Durmstrang dorms. Memory could be trusted but one could not be too careful when wandering in an alien castle. It would be many weeks before she adapted to Hogwarts.

The classroom door had been left ajar and the blonde witch strolled through the archway, shoulders held back elegantly and her gaze calmly shifting from the empty tables to the boy who was rising from his seat. Manners, she thought and shook his hand, gripping it firmly but cordially.

"Da, it is good to meet you. I am Emilija Cihala, of course, but you may call me Emi," she smiled brilliantly at him and then moved to sit at a chair that had been pulled up to the same desk. Her eyes did not leave Baxter's face-- they observed him intelligently, carefully.

Ravenclaw. The smart ones, no? That is what she heard. Emi set her bag down and began taking out parchment. "I am a fourth year Zufrieden," she explained. "Thank you, for agreeing to help me."

Emi was much easier for him than Emilija, or her surname. Short, simple, and not something he was likely to ruin with poor pronunciation. She had a bright smile- which surprised him a little. Baxter had heard that the Durmstrang students were all unfriendly and incapable of any positive emotions.

"You can call me Bax or Baxter," he told her. "It's nice to meet you, Emi." He waited for her to sit down before he resumed his seat. The way she studied his face made him a bit uncomfortable. Baxter wasn't used to people to staring at him like that- especially girls. But she soon spoke again, also a fourth year, and a Zufreiden. He remembered learning about the hierarchy of Durmstrang from reading books over the summer.

"I hope I'm able to help," he told her. "I'm not sure what your coursework is like at Durmstrang. I want to make sure that anything I do will still be helpful whenever you go back to your school next year. Our curriculum is much different. Much more..." the Ravenclaw trailed off for a moment, searching for the best and least offensive way to say what he wanted to. "Light hearted," he finally finished. Hopefully she spoke English well enough to follow his train of thought.

"I thought today we'd talk about what you need help with, the sorts of spells that you learn at your school, and set up a schedule that works for both of us. I take a lot of classes and I participate in a couple of clubs, so I'm fairly busy. But I definitely want to make sure that I have the proper amount of time to help you with your studies. Does all of that sound okay?" Baxter asked. He didn't want to jump into things head first. He was the sort to make a plan and stick to it.

Emi continued to stare at her tutor with obvious interest. Everything in this place was a curiousity and she took no measure to hide this notion. Her expression was personable, though her gaze was analytical as Baxter tried to explain that he wished to be of use. The witch frowned minutely when he had described the school syllabus as... light-hearted.

"It cannot be so light-hearted," Emilija interjected with indistinct confusion. "Maybe not perfect but your country, it produces...ah, formidable wizards, da? Or we would not deign to compete."

By we, she naturally meant her own institute. They would not choose to compete with light-hearted, carefree opponents. This here was a school of significance. But of course, her upperclassmen would soon prove the expected superiority of Durmstrang. Part of their superiority was never to underestimate a rival.

"Your plan is agreeable. I can tell you what we study... net, what I study. I am a student of spellworks and... and intangibles." The Zufreiden paused and retrieved a wand from her robes, placing some parchment before her. She smiled at Baxter for a second before continuing.

"My struggle is with these intangibles. History...ah, sections of Ancient Runes. I struggle, also, with Astronomy and with Potions. I am not, how do you say...proficient?" Her lips pressed into a cute, thinking slant. "I am not proficient with potions."

Potions leaned more towards tangibles and Emi had scant experience with the subject after her second year. She looked back up at the Ravenclaw boy in an expectant, almost hopeful manner. Her parchment was covered in flourished scribbles. The subject titles, then her name written at the top.

"I only meant in comparison," he clarified. "I have heard much of your curriculum contains information that our instructors would consider... inappropriate to teach young people." That was one way to put it. He'd actually heard that her school taught the dark arts and made lots of dark wizards. But Baxter was not one to pay much attention to hearsay and was going to try to stay personable and pleasant with Emilija.

Intangible? Baxter was uncertain what she meant by that. But then she began to list the classes she had a hard time with. History, Ancient Runes, Astronomy, and Potions. Baxter smiled, relieved. He was good at those classes, and they were (relatively) easy to help someone study for.

"Astronomy is one of my best classes," he told her. "At least, the way Professor Trishna teaches it. His instruction differs from traditional ways of teaching the class. If you manage to keep up, you will return to Durmstrang ahead of the rest of your classmates, I'd wager." They might also sneer at the muggle aspects of the class curriculum, but Baxter wasn't going to tell her that.

"Do you study regularly for the classes?" the Ravenclaw asked. He did not mean to be rude, but he found studying worked best for History and Ancient Runes. Comitting things to memory was a huge part of those classes.

Inappropriate to teach young people. Emilija had pushed her lips out into a little pout upon hearing this phrase but she was silent. Did the professors of this school have so little trust in their students? Or did the students not develop until later? It did not matter, she surmised, if it gave her upperclassmen the advantage in this tournament.

The Baxter boy was quick to move on from this. He was straightforward and competent as far as Emi could tell but a little... boring, net? Her blue eyes observed him both attentive and a little speculatively. She was surrounded by diligent, determined people at Durmstrang and knew: there is always more to a person than their studies.

Emi wondered what there was to her tutor, as she nodded almost solemnly at his comment on Astronomy. "Da, I know now of your teacher's methods," she murmured and her lips drew back into a smile again: "I need help, I think, with my charts. They are not very precise."

"Do you study regularly for the classes?" Baxter asked and the little blonde witch grinned, leaning forward and folding her arms on the table. "You must study all the time for your classes," her gaze narrowed playfully as she met him in the eye. Ravenclaw, with the blue... she saw many in the library here. "Do you do anything else? I have comrades like you. Always with books, da? Always working."

And then, as lightly as a bird leaving its perch, the Zufreiden leaned back without looking away. "But yes, I study regularly. It is important. Discipline."