New beginning, new battle
She was finally somewhere new. Somewhere different. Somewhere that didn’t belong to the Parkinsons, to Walburga, or even to her grandfather’s legacy.
She had been awaited by a professor who later introduced herself as Professor Volkov. All of the other first years were already there, but she was the last one to arrive.
Karkaroff, the school’s headmaster stood up.
-Welcome to Durmstrang. – Karkaroff started his speech. His voice was harsh and measured. -You stand within the halls of one of the most prestigious magical institutions in the world. You were not chosen lightly. Durmstrang does not coddle weaklings or fools. Here, we mold warriors, scholars, and leaders. – his gaze lingered on the group of first years in front of him. His thin lips were curling into a cold sneer. -Strength, intelligence, cunning – these are the most important things, only these three matter. In the outside world, magic is treated as a mere tool by foolish wizards and witches. But here magic will be your lifeblood. Here you will learn everything to be the most powerful or the smartest who will lead the crowds. But you have to understand something first. Here you won't be pampered. – Karkaroff straightened his back and continued.
-You will be sorted tonight. Each of you will step forward and demonstrate your strength and abilities. Your magic, your skill, and your spirit will determine where you belong. It won’t matter what you want, or where you want to be. It’s not your decision. The factions will choose you based on your potential.
-Now – Professor Volkov, the one who waited for her in front of the school, took over the speech. – when I call your name, I expect you to take a step forward, and show us your magic, or your strength.
Sylvi Olevna – the first student was called, a short blonde-haired girl stepped forward onto the circular rune-engraved stone. -Show us your strength. – the professor demanded.
Sylvi raised her hands, muttering an incantation under her breath. A gust of wind erupted from her palms, swirling with crackling energy before slamming into the ground with a deafening thud.
-Soscrofa welcomes you – he announced. Sylvi stepped back, her expression one of quiet satisfaction as she moved towards her new house’s section of the hall. Kaida just hoped she would be half as satisfied with her house as this girl was. The next boy's name was Anton Petrov. He was tall and had piercing brown eyes. He stepped forward with full confidence in himself.
-Show us your strength. – the boy exhaled softly, then with a flick of his wan. Summoned a sphere of shimmering, swirling water, suspending it effortlessly in the air. The surface rippled, shifting into complex patterns before it froze into a perfectly solid piece of ice.
-Ucilena welcomes you.
The next one was a tall girl, Katja Novak, with a determined expression. Her sharp green eyes darted across the hall, taking in every detail.
-Show us your strength. – The tall girl hesitated for a moment before she stepped forward. With a flick of her wrist, she conjured a glowing fox of blue light, which circled her protectively for a few seconds before disappearing.
-Vulpelara welcomes you.
The girl beamed as she hurried to join her house.
Next up there was a broad-shouldered boy, Dimitri Koslov, with a steady, unyielding gaze, walked onto the stone platform.
-Show us your strength.
He took a deep breath, then slammed his fist against the ground. A pulse of raw magic spread outward, shaking the very foundation of the hall.
-Wolverine welcomes you.
Dimitri smirked slightly and strode to his house, shoulders squared.
Next up was a boy named Nico Valentinian Rosier who was chosen into Soscrofa. Then another boy was chosen into Ucilena, named Viktor Kallisto. Then a girl named Sofia Mikhailov was chosen into Vulpelara, and another girl, Lena Petrovna was chosen into Vulpelara too. Next up there was a boy named Augustus Maximillian Rosier; he was chosen into Soscrofa. Then there was another girl named Astrid Dragunov, who was chosen into Ucilena. The next two first years were boys. The first was called Erik Ivanov and he was chosen into Wolverine. The second boy was named Yevgeny Morozov, he was chosen into Wolverine. The last one of the first years was Kaida.
-Kaida Andromeda Grindelwald – she took a step forward. A hush fell over the hall. The name alone carried weight. The older students exchanged glances. The professors stiffened. Even Headmaster Karkaroff’s gaze sharpened, a flicker of something unreadable replaced his usual icy disinterest.
She moved with calm steps. She didn’t hesitate. Her blue and brown eyes remained unreadable as she stepped onto the ancient stone platform. The runes beneath her started faintly glowing in response to her magic.
-Show us your strength.
For a moment she did nothing. Then she slowly exhaled. The torches on the walls dimmed, their flames flickering as if something unseen had drained them from their fire. Shadows stretched unnaturally long, curling at the edges of the room like living things. A frigid wind, though no windows were open, whispered through the hall. The air itself seemed to be full of energy, an invisible force pressing against the skin of every person in the room.
Kaida lifted her hand, her fingers splayed. And then– A glow ignited at her fingertips. But it wasn’t fire.
It was light, pure, and searing, like the heart of a lightning strike captured in her palm. It expanded, forming into a swirling orb of energy, bright yet cold, pulsing with restrained power. Unlike the raw destruction of a blasting curse, or the elemental force of fire or ice, this magic was controlled, and precise– yet every inch of it screamed of untapped potential.
Then she closed her hands. The light has vanished. It was swallowed into nothingness.
For the first time in years, the headmaster seemed interested. His gaze lingered on her as if assessing her in ways no one else dared.
-Wolverine welcomes you, Grindelwald. – Kaida’s expression didn’t change. She nodded and went to her housemates.
When they arrived at their common room, she went to sit down in one of the couches, when one of her housemates approached her.
-That was impressive, Grindelwald. – she turned her head slightly, her blue and brown eyes meeting with a pair of piercing green eyes. The pair of eyes belonged to a brown-haired boy around her age, maybe a year older. He had a confident smirk on his lips. Unlike the others, he wasn’t intimidated – he was intrigued.
-Alexei Petrov – he introduced himself, offering her a hand. – Welcome to Wolverine.
She studied him for a few seconds before she clasped her hands into his in a firm shake. He was sitting in front of her in another armchair.
-Kaida Grindelwald. – she introduced herself. Alexei let out a small chuckle.
-Oh, we all know that.
Across from them, another student spoke up.
-You didn’t even cast a spell. That was raw magic. – Kaida turned her attention towards the girl who spoke to her. A girl with jet-black hair, dark skin, and amber eyes. She wasn’t looking at Kaida with fear but with curiosity and maybe even excitement.
-Anya Volkov – the girl introduced herself. – a third year. And I think I'm going to like you. – Kaida nodded. Alexei leaned forward, resting his arm on his leg.
-You have no idea how rare it is to see someone at Durmstrang with magic like that. – his grin widened. – And in Wolverine, no less. We like strength, but we also respect the ones who are stronger than us, the ones who show that they have full control. You just showed that.
Kaida appreciated the straightforwardness. It was different from the way people normally spoke about her or her name.
-I don’t really care what people think of me or what they expect from me. I’m here to become stronger.
Anya’s lips curled into a knowing smirk, then sat down next to her at the other end of the couch.
-Then you are in the right place.
Just then another tall, broad-shouldered boy with short brown hair dropped into the seat beside them, eyeing Kaida with a critical expression.
-That was really impressive Grindelwald, but let’s see if you can keep up in training.
Alexei rolled his eyes.
-Ignore Viktor, he likes to act like he owns the place. – Alexei said. Kaida just smiled at him.
-Don’t worry Viktor. I don’t want to keep up with the training. – Kaida said, and took a moment break before she continued, but Viktor already thought he won. – I want to surpass it. – she said it with such a confidence that it had shocked Viktor.
The rest of the night went smoothly. Kaida was the only girl in her house and year, so she was put together with a girl from the second year named Lina Orlov. She was a nice girl from Germany. While Kaida had long mahogany brown hair, Lina had strawberry blonde hair paired up with a pair of green eyes. They shared the same passion for reading and quidditch, and They could talk about them for hours.
The next morning, Kaida woke up earlier than Lina because Alexei and Anya promised to show her around the castle. Her first lesson will only start at eight a.m., and it's currently six a.m. She will have classes with Karkaroff, too, because she was chosen to his “special students” class, but those will be on afternoons.
When she got ready, she went down to the common room, where Alexei and Anya were waiting for her.
-Good morning, I’m sorry that I made you two wait. – Kaida apologized when she finally got to them.
-Good morning, oh don’t worry, we were the early ones. – Anya said it with a really sleepy voice. -This idiot right here, barged in my room because he saw a spider in his room and he was scared of it, so I had to get rid of it myself at three in the morning. – Anya told Kaida the incident while pointing at Alexei. She couldn’t believe that the boy in front of her was afraid of a spider. – I know it's hard to believe, but this big baby is afraid of spiders.
-Kaida, you have to believe me it was huge and really scary. – Alexei said it, and just by the thought of the spider, a chill ran through him. – Now forget about the spiders. Do you want to look around in the castle or not?
-Let's go. – Anya said before Kaida even could answer.