Demitria opened the door to her dorm. It was completely empty. All the other girls had already made their way down to the carriages when the tiny Russian realized she had forgotten something. Quickly striding into the room, she looked around one last time. She had to move quickly, the carriages that went to Hogsmead waited for no one. At the same time, she felt an odd tug in her chest that slowed her down. 

Summer was far different than winter. In winter, there would always be the promise of return. The room was still bright, covered in half-made beds, posters, make-up, and oddles of shoes. Even in a room full of perfectionists, it looked like home when they left for winter. On the other hand, when summer came… there was no sign of life. That stark emptiness bothered Demitria greatly. She lived for fullness, for color, music, growth, and life. Not this tiny dark room full of nothing.

Travelling across the floor to her corner of the room, she dropped down to her knees and slid her arm under the bed. A smile broke onto her features. There it was. She pulled out a small box and tucked it under her arm. Now she was ready to go.

As she trotted quickly on the flagstones of the dungeons, the blonde girl sighed deeply. She wouldn’t have been able to forgive herself if she had left the box there and it had been discarded like some common piece of junk. Even though it didn’t look like much on the outside, the small brown box was her treasure. Mostly, it held her music, but there were also special… things that didn’t want to fall into the wrong hands. AKA Kitty’s. Music, Photos, Letters and so many other things filled the simple sides of the box.

Bringing herself back into the present, she barely caught the last carriage. It was completely empty… everyone else had already made it to the trains. She huffed. All the train compartments would be full by the time she got there. She pulled her bag over her shoulder, clutched the box to her chest, and exited at the train station.

Quickly, she boarded the train with not a moment to loose. With a shudder, the train began to move under her feet. She let her hand press against the wall to steady herself. As soon as she got her bearings, she began to move down the halls. Each compartment she passed was full. Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs, Ravenclaws, Slytherins… They began to blend together. The halls were full and there was a general excitement buzzing around her. It was like she was in a bubble and she couldn’t find her way out.

Suddenly, in the midst of the chaos, was an empty compartment. Taking a deep breath, she entered and sat down. Once she had cooled her head, she would go and find some of the others… For the moment, the quiet felt nice. The tiny princess closed her eyes for a moment.

It had been hard for Leon to pack his things for the very last time. It seemed almost physically painful. Hogwarts was a second home to him. He had positions of respect there. He was looked up upon and he was considered talented and known for being intelligent and a leader. Now... He was a bookstore owner. The moment the train jerked forward to take everyone home, the feeling of being an innocent, helpless student washed away from him. He was an adult. He owned a store. He would be finishing setting up said store as soon as he could. He had been visiting it from time to time throughout the year. He hadn't told anyone about it, really. Waker and Edmund knew, but that was just a given. He wasn't sure he would be able to actually get it together, was his problem. But it looked promising.

Leon had also started moving into his own apartment, thanks to his father. He didn't know his dad had been setting up a fund to help him with his store and with his own home. He would be able to live off on his own quickly, as Leon was never one to abuse another person's charity, especially not his father's. It was in London and he could easily apparate between it and his store. He would be moving into it once his store was all setup. It was lovely. One bedroom, a rather large main room, and a healthy looking bathroom and a nice, big window facing... Well... A building. But Leon was middle class, so that was the best he could get.

The most heartbreaking moment of them all was when he handed in his Head Boy badge. He almost felt like he would cry on the spot, but he kept his composure. Leon was proud of himself for being put in high positions. If he ever wanted a professional job, he could get one easily. But he loved books. And he liked being on his own more than working with other people. Leon knew the types of students who would walk into a Hogsmeade bookstore. It'd be mostly the quiet types. There'd be the occasional loudmouth, yes, but they probably wouldn't be a regular costumer. Unless they were Beatrix Dark. Even then, Leon knew she had a respect for books and he remembered running into her in the library one day, where she was utterly quiet for once. There was always exceptions.

Leon had been in the prefect section of the train for a bit, until the train started to move forward. He was saying goodbyes to the younger students and wishing them good luck. Beatrix had asked him he thought she would eventually get Head Girl and he had stuttered out an incomprehensible answer. Typical Leon. He could have his own sitcom with him being an awkward, geeky guy with a sweet disposition. Fauna Blake could be the quirky love interest who breaks him out of his shell and wears ironic shirts that say stuff like "Daddy's Little Man." Not that Leon was interested in Fauna, she just seemed the type to be in a sitcom. He couldn't really put his finger on why that would be.

He hadn't realized the compartments would be all full up already. Another typical move on his part. He was too focused on the details to figure out the most obvious things. He shuffled, anxiously, through the train, looking for a potential compartment. Most were full up or filled with people Leon wouldn't normally find himself sitting with (say, the nastier Slytherin folk.) But as he neared the end of the cart, his eyes fell onto a rather empty compartment with someone tiny resting inside of it. He realized it would be rather rude to waltz in and sit down while she was sleeping. What if she had friends she was waiting on? Then he would have to face them and her and he would feel incredibly intrusive and awkward and he wouldn't know what to do with himself. But, as Leon studied the girl a bit more, he realized he knew her. Silly him, she should have known that blonde head of hair by now.

Leon had grown rather attached to Demitria Strelnikov. It had started out as a simple run in, where she enjoyed listening to him play his cello and he sat there, awestruck by a girl being impressed with something he did so often. And it had grown into friendship. He called her Mimi and she sent him letters in the middle of the night, asking for him to visit her. And where it had gone from there... Leon almost saw it as torture, how much he began thinking of her. He had been thinking of her. But Leon realized that every girl he started to think about never really thought about him in return. Leon was the lonely, "I'm never going to have a girlfriend" type. He had all the right assets to impress a girl, but her didn't have the capacity to. He was too awkward and jumbled and nervous and socially inept to actually manage to have a girl interested in him.

He remembered when Ravenclaw beat Gryffindor in their last match, he had been questioned by girls about the size of his broomstick. He has told them, "It doesn't matter the size of the broomstick, ladies, what matters is enthusiastic team members who understand the meaning of playing clean and how to throw a quaffle in a ninety degree angle." His mates were still laughing about that one. Their innuendo had gone right over his head.

Leon knocked, out of courtesy, before stepping into the compartment. "Evening, Mimi," he told her with his face growing red and his smile crooked, "Do you mind if I sit with you?"

Feeling the movement of the train under her, Demitria felt herself drift into that place between conciousness and sleep. She was still aware of the space around her, but reality was no longer important. She pulled her legs up onto the seat and lay her head against the outer wall. Even though it was almost mid June, the glass was still slightly chilly.

The tiny Russian doll let herself yawn and slip away. In her head, she heard music and saw many people. But for some reason there were a few that stuck out to her or they kept returning. She couldn't figure out. In her half conscious brain, there was no dkscernable plot not rhyme nor reason to the madness that was spinning colors and flashes of light and faces.  Of them all, she saw Leon's the most.

And of them all, his was the most confusing.

What was he to her? They'd barely known eachother for three months. But that was enough time for whatever they had to develop. The first time had been a fluke. A fluke or fate? The door of the Room of Requirement didn't appear to everyone, especially her music room. Her music room was catered to her individual needs. It was no one else's. So why would the door show itself to Leon. Unless she was a part of what he had needed that March night.

Through their music, they had become closer and closer, even becoming close friends. But Mimi had to admit that she didn't place him with all of her other friends. He was special. He was in a category all his own. Sometimes, she dreaded seeing her friends, but whenever she got the rare chance to see him, she was elated for hours, even days.

Her thoughts became less organized and made less and less sense as she drifted further and further away...

"Evening, Mimi. Do you mind if I sit with you?"

Consciousness rushed back in a wave and her ethereal green eyes fluttered open. For a few seconds she couldn't tell if she were still dreaming. The face was the same. She blinked slowly a few times and realized that this was no dream. "Leon!" She smiled sleepily, sitting up straight, blushing slightly that he had caught her asleep. "Of course you can sit here. You should know by now that I don't bite." She let herself give a bell-like laugh and motioned to the otherwise empty compartment. "As you can see, my presence is swarmed with admirers as usual, so you'll have some difficulty seating yourself."

Demitria knew that sometimes Leon wouldn't understand her gentle teasing. But that didn't take away anything from being with him. His sometimes brutal honesty was one of the things she loved, as it was one of the things that she lacked.