we are who we are [dastan]

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Zytka was out on the Hogwarts grounds again, several heavy cloaks wrapped around her shoulders. She hated the cold. She would have been walking barefoot, but she was afraid that her toes would freeze if she did. Therefore, Zytka was wearing three pairs of woolen socks, which had made it rather difficult to shove her feet into her shoes. She had managed it, though, and now she was toasty and warm despite the cold of the air around her. She was walking near to the Whomping Willow, and was glad to see that there was no injured student beneath it this time. Zytka wondered how the boy that she had found was doing. He had probably been released from the hospital wing fairly quickly, the professor mused. While she wished to know more answers, it was probably a breach of confidentiality for her to ask Caro. Oh well. Things would be the way they were.

@dastan

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Dastan was a wanderer. He was not a student that could sit indoors for hours studying- though he loved learning and knowledge. No, Dastan was a being of action and constant action at that, which was why he decided to go on a walk outside. It was cold out there, bitterly so, but he ignored that. Cold was a good way to rejuvenate his mind and body and Dastan loved it. He also loved the chance for solitude in the cold. Not many people wanted to wander around outside for no reason. Without really thinking about where he was going, Dastan found himself near the Whomping Willow. Not too near to it- he'd learned his lesson from Jesper- but near enough that he could see the knobs on the trunk. He heard someone walking around outside and turned to see the same woman who helped Jesper the day he'd been injured. She was probably a professor here, but he wasn't positive. "Hello," he called, greeting her cheerfully. If he'd known her at all, he might have asked what she was doing outside on such a cold day, but he didn't really feel comfortable teasing a stranger like that, so he just said hello.

@zytka

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Zytka hadn’t been paying attention well enough, she thought with a wry smile, as a boy appeared to materialize out of nowhere. However, he was just who she had been thinking about, or at least one of the people, so Zytka couldn’t help but wonder if she had gained some sort of super power, or if it was just luck working in her favor again. She was inclined to believe the latter. “Good morning.” Zytka greeted, though she wasn’t sure whether it was morning or afternoon anymore – it was hard to tell with the constant cloud cover that hid the sun. “I do not believe we have ever been properly introduced.” She said, stepping closer. “My name is Zytka Kamuntu. I teach Ancient Runes here.” Then, after a pause, Zytka decided just to ask what was on her mind. “Your brother, how is he? Recovered well?”

@dastan

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She started to introduce herself and Dastan smiled, not surprised at all when she said that she taught at the school. It was cool to know that she taught Ancient Runes. He took that subject at home and enjoyed it quite a bit. Honestly, Dastan was always up for a challenge when it came to his education and most people saw Ancient Runes as difficult so he'd taken it, of course. "Nice to meet you professor. I actually take Ancient Runes from Beauxbatons" Dastan said converstationally when she introduced herself. "My name is Dastan Oscarsson. My brother's name is Jesper," he offered, since the conversation would probably turn to him, seeing as how when they first met one another Jesper was injured pretty badly. He smiled when the topic turned straight to his brother. "He is fine. Staying indoors because he's nervous about getting hurt again, but he is doing well. The healers in the Hospital Wing know what they are doing and took care of him fairly quickly." Of course they would be good, they worked at a school, but Dastan still said it.

@zytka

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Zytka raised her eyebrows when the boy said that he took Ancient Runes at Beauxbatons. “I didn’t realize that was offered there.” She said quietly. If she had, Zytka might have traveled to France all those years ago, instead of England. As things were, though, Zytka didn’t want to learn a fourth language, or leave the life that she had built in Hogwarts. “It is nice to meet you, too, Dastan.” Zytka said when the boy introduced himself, wondering why he hadn’t started with that instead of his comment about taking Ancient Runes. In any case, Zytka now knew both the name of the boy in front of her, and the name of his injured brother. “That’s too bad.” Zytka said when Dastan informed her that his brother was staying inside for fear of injury. “Missing out on the world because something horrible might happen isn’t any way to live life.” Many students at Hogwarts had outgrown that notion after the events of the previous year, which had made Zytka happy, despite the sad circumstances for them needing to outgrow that particular mentality. “Have you met Nurse Blacksmith? She is a good friend of mine, and the head nurse at the hospital wing.”

@dastan

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Dastan shrugged when she said she didn't know that Ancient Runes were offered at Beauxbatons. "Yes they are," he confirmed with a smile, wondering why she seemed so surprised by that. "Pleasure to meet you as well," he offered back, trying to be polite. He wasn't sure what exactly to say, but figured that might be the right thing to start with. He shrugged when she started talking about Jesper's reaction to getting injured. Personally, he agreed with her opinion and thought that his brother should start going out again and doing things. But he wasn't going to say that out loud. His responsibility as a brother was to stand up for him. "Yeah ... that's Jesper though. He needs a little bit of time to get back on his feet before he'll come out. But I know him and he'll be out and about soon enough. It's just taking him a bit longer than normal this time." Which was a little worrying to Dastan, but he tried to hide that. "I might have met her that day," Dastan said after a moment. "Honestly though I don't really remember who helped Jesper. If I saw her I would remember her I think." At least, if she was a part of the group that helped Jesper, Dastan would definitely recognize her.

@zytka

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Zytka was surprised to hear that Jesper was the kind of person who needed time to get back on his feet. He hadn’t seemed that way to her – then again, he had been in pain, and she had been trying her best to stay calm despite how much Jesper had been panicking. “Do you know why it may be taking longer than normal?” Zytka asked. As far as she could tell, the injury had been a rather simple one, and it had just been an accident, nothing horribly huge or out of the ordinary. If it had really shaken Jesper up so badly, maybe there was something that neither Zytka nor Dastan knew.

“You probably did.” Zytka reasserted. “She’s in the hospital wing quite a lot, seeing as it is her job.” When Dastan said that he would remember her on sight, Zytka nodded. “I would not say that she had a unique appearance, but it is certainly a memorable one.” Caroline was beautiful, that was undeniable, and Zytka thought that alone made her stand out from a crowd, not that she would say that to anyone, much less a student. “Have you met any of the other Hogwarts professors?” Zytka asked. As far as she knew, the foreign students were more interested in meeting other students, not teachers, but she was still curious.

@dastan

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Dastan shrugged, "Probably because he's in a new place," he said after thinking about it for a few seconds. Jesper wasn't one that particularly liked new places, which was something that Dastan learned their first year of school. It took Jesper quite a while to get used to that. But eventually he had. "He does not really like new places, but he will get over it." Jesper liked exploring, but when bad things happened in a new place he didn't respond well at all. 

"I will have to pay attention if I go back," Dastan said with a smile. He didn't really see why he would be going to the hospital wing again and didn't particularly want to go for himself, but if he did he would keep an eye out. He shook his head when she asked if he met any of the other professors. "No. I see them in the Great Hall, but I have not spoken with any of them. They all seem busy," It wasn't really an excuse, but at the same time it was. Dastan wasn't really shy and he wouldn't have a problem talking to a professor (obviously) but the opportunity had not arisen yet so he hadn't done it.

@zytka

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Zytka knew that being in a new place was scary, and she supposed that having an accident couldn’t have done anything to alleviate that fear. “I’m sorry to hear that.” She said with a sympathetic frown. “New places can be difficult, but they can also be wonderful.” New places and new people meant new opportunities, and trying to hide from all of that, even for a good reason, was a shame. Zytka hoped that Dastan would be able to ease his brother out into the world again, but she knew that pressing the subject wasn’t going to help either of them, so she let it be.

“If you tell her you know me, she’ll like you.” Zytka teased lightly. Really, Caro liked everyone, but Zytka was content with pretending that the nurse liked her better than the average student. “As for the other professors, most of them are busy. But they also enjoy getting to see new faces, especially of students that don’t just want their help for a class or something of that sort.” She had been pleased to see one of her former students, who had come to her just to say hello, though Zytka had eventually ended up doing something for him anyways. Perhaps Dastan would have something similar happen to him.

@dastan

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Dastan nodded when the professor apologized and said that new places could be a good thing too. "I agree and I am working with Jesper on that. He will come around soon. Until he does, I will have to enjoy my adventures here at Hogwarts on my own. Until I run into people, that is," he added with a smile. He liked meeting new people and trying out new places, so this wasn't a hard thing for him. 

"I will remember that," Dastan said, somewhat seriously even though he sensed she was not entirely serious. Still, having a way to get on the good side of a healer was definitely a good thing to do. Then she mentioned that the other professors liked meeting new people, especially when it was about the subject they taught. Dastan was surprised he hadn't thought of that. Not that he needed help in his classes, but it could be a good thing to talk to other professors about specific subjects. Deepen his knowledge even more, as it were. "Maybe I will need to start searching them out then," he commented thoughtfully. It was definitely an interesting idea. One that Dastan was definitely going to think over. He liked talking with professors. They appreciated his love of learning and his enthusiasm, which was a refreshing break from his fellow students, who found him annoying and over-studious.

@zytka

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Dastan said he was working with his brother on realizing the beauty of a new place, and Zytka smiled. “That’s good of you.” Even if they were brothers, there would be some in the world who would rather have adventures of their own than wait until their brother was ready. “Perhaps one day we can meet each other again, under better circumstances.” Maybe Jesper wouldn’t be so standoffish when he wasn’t in extreme pain.

“The best time to find them would probably be right after classes end for the day.” Zytka suggested. “Some stay behind so that they can talk to any students that might have questions about that day’s lesson. I’m sure they wouldn’t mind if you dropped in, too.” She didn’t know when Durmstrang ended their classes for the day, but she anticipated that they probably didn’t have as many breaks in between classes, since there wasn’t really anyplace for them to walk in between classes and the like. They probably finished before the Hogwarts students, in all honesty, but Zytka didn’t think that disclaimer was important to mention. Dastan knew better than to barge into a classroom with a closed door, she hoped. “Do you know what you’re doing after school?” She asked. That might help her figure out which professors he was interested in seeing.

@dastan

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"He is my brother. Of course I am going to help him," Dastan explained, though to him that explanation came without thinking. He loved his brother deeply; Jesper was a part of him and helping his brother was something he would always do. As the older twin, it felt like a responsibility, but even if it wasn't his responsibility he would do it. He smiled, "I think Jesper will want to meet you again, to show you that he is not always," Dastan couldn't think of the right word. "In trouble." That wasn't what he wanted to say, but it would suffice. For now. Maybe he would find a better way to explain himself later.

Dastan nodded, appreciating her suggestion. After their last class would probably be a good time for him to try and meet up with some teachers and Dastan now wanted to do that. While his headmistress was teaching them all the required material, Dastan really liked to talk with people who were so focused on their subject. That was one thing he did really miss about Beauxbatons. "Thank you, I am going to have to try that," he told her appreciatively. He shrugged when she asked what he was doing. "I don't know what field I want to go into. I want to become an expert at what I do, but I'm having a difficult time deciding what I like best. So at the moment I will probably do Quidditch until I can figure that out." Add in how much he loved Quidditch and there really wasn't a question about it. Do quiditch for a few years until he made up his mind and then become an expert in something. The choice seemed easy to him.

@zytka

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Zytka smiled when Dastan said that of course he was going to help his brother. He didn’t seem offended by what she had said, though, so Zytka assumed that he was just restating his simple reasoning in case she hadn’t been able to catch it herself. Zytka didn’t have any siblings, so she was a bit out of touch with what one or wouldn’t do for their sibling. “Well, if he does, or if you do for that matter, my room is on the sixth floor of the castle. The door is nearly always open.” It was open unless Zytka wasn’t there, which wasn’t often – really only at meal times or when she was visiting Caroline in the hospital wing.

Zytka nodded when Dastan thanked her for her suggestion of when to visit other teachers. “It’s not a problem. You would know it yourself if you took class in the school, and I see no reason not to extend common knowledge to the foreign students.” Hogwarts had a few secrets that probably weren’t going to be shared with the foreign students, but when teachers were available to talk was not a secret, and certainly not one to be kept jealously even if it were one. “Quidditch is good, I’ve heard.” Zytka said. She had talked to Quidditch players who were students, but since she hadn’t played the sport growing up like practically every English child had, she didn’t have the same voracious love for it as many of the Hogwarts students had.

@dastan

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Dastan grinned and nodded when the professor told him what floor her room was on. "I will definitely tell him that," he said. "And there is definitely a chance that I might come to visit you up there as well," he said. After all, if he had any questions with his studies in Ancient Runes, he might as well go up to visit her. She would probably be much more help than his headmistress.

He nodded, "I'm glad you all feel that way. I didn't know whether or not classroom doors were open to all students or just Hogwarts ones." He hesitated, not wanting to offend her, but wanting to tell the truth all the same. "I know some schools are very particular about the education they give and do not want to give away their secrets, so I was unsure," he eventually tacked on, not sure exactly what she would think of that. His smile widened again when she commented on Quidditch. "I really enjoy it," he told her with a casual shrug. He didn't know whether or not she knew much about the game, so he didn't want to brag about how good he was or anything. Besides, that probably wouldn't be taken very well even if she did know a lot about it.

@zytka

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Zytka smiled back at Dastan when he grinned at her, glad that he was perhaps going to visit, and tell his brother to come and visit there, too. “It will be nice to see you both, whenever you can make it.” Hopefully Dastan would realize that the invitation was an open one, and that there was no need to inform her about times and dates, or even to come at all. She wasn’t going to expect much.

“We have been having a lot of trouble at our school, as I’m sure you know.” The members of the foreign delegations had been told everything that had happened at Hogwarts as a matter of full disclosure. “And I think that is beginning to make us focus more on unity, not just as a school, but with members of other schools, as well. It doesn’t make sense to decry a group for discriminating against people, and then ourselves discriminate on something just as trivial.” If anything, turning students away because of their geographic location was even worse than turning them away based on blood purity, at least in Zytka’s mind. “I am afraid I won’t be much use in discussing Quidditch.” Zytka said apologetically. “The sport was not popular in Uganda, where I grew up.”

@dastan