The cold here is no joke. As the made their way inside the dark gloomy castle of Durmstrang she really got a glimpse of what these months would be like.
A lot of cold feet and fingers.
The entrance hall was vast and imposing, carved from dark stone that seemed to absorb what little light the floating lanterns provided. Long banners in deep red and black hung from the high ceilings, and the air carried the faint scent of pine, smoke, and old magic. Students streamed in, their boots echoing against the stone floors as they shook snow from their pelts.
Fila's breath still fogged in front of her even inside. The heating charms on her uniform helped, but the chill still seeped through, nipping at her ears and fingertips. She flexed her hands inside her gloves, already missing the humid warmth of Castelobruxo.
Aleksei walked beside her, unfazed. "The common rooms are warmer. The castle itself fights the cold in its own way. You get used to it… mostly."
Sofia fell into step on her other side. "First night is always the worst. They'll have hot stew and spiced mead in the hall. Helps."
Fila looked at her, Mead? And than saw her grinning face and knew it was just a joke.
Victor Krum and the others stayed close as the group moved with the flow of students toward the Great Hall. The corridor walls were lined with suits of armor that shifted slightly as they passed, and faint runes glowed along the stonework. Everything felt heavy. Ancient. Like the building itself was watching.
When they finally stepped into the Great Hall, Fila paused for half a second.
Four long tables stretched the length of the room, already filling with students. At the far end, a raised dais held the staff table. Massive fireplaces roared on either side, casting flickering light and much-needed warmth.
"Over here," Aleksei said, guiding her toward the fourth-year section of one table. "You're with us for now."
They had barely sat down when a tall, stern-looking man with a neatly trimmed beard and sharp eyes stood from the head table. Headmaster Igor Karkaroff. His gaze swept over the hall, lingering for a noticeable moment on Fila before he began speaking in a smooth, carrying voice.
"Welcome back, students. And welcome to our new transfers. This year will test you. As always, Durmstrang does not coddle weakness. Excel, and you will have rewarded yourself greatly."
His eyes found Fila again.
"Some of you arrive with… reputations. Prove you are worthy of them."
A low murmur rippled through the hall. Fila met Karkaroff's gaze steadily, giving a small, respectful nod. The headmaster's lips twitched, not quite a smile before he continued with the rest of the short welcome.
Fila didn't know what to think of the headmaster, during the break she had made some effort into researching the school and him. And he was a death eater converted, which automatically put him on a list of "Going to fucking kill". But for now she would watch him, see if he actually does his job. They would have a reason for making him one, so maybe he really is converted.
Food appeared on the tables moments later: steaming bowls of thick stew, roasted meats, dark bread, and hot drinks. The warmth was immediate and welcome.
Sofia slid a bowl toward Fila. "Eat. You'll need it. Tomorrow the real fun starts."
Fila took a spoonful, the heat spreading through her chest. Around her, the group chatted easily, already including her like she'd been there for months.
Despite the biting cold still clinging to her bones, she felt a quiet thrill settle in.
Discipline, harsh and brutal. Something she had always wanted, some actual structure of command.
She ate in relative silence for a few minutes, listening to the rhythm of the hall. The clatter of bowls, the low murmur of conversation in half a dozen languages, the crackle of the massive fireplaces. It felt… honest. No fake smiles or political pleasantries like at Ilvermorny. No wide-eyed admiration or fear like in Brazil. Just students who had come here to become harder.
Sofia nudged her with an elbow. "So tell me, what is Ilvermorny like?"
Fila swallowed her spoonful of stew, the warmth spreading nicely through her chest despite the lingering chill in her fingers. She leaned back a little, considering the question. The Great Hall's noise wrapped around them like a living thing, laughter, clinking bowls, the occasional burst of spellwork as someone showed off a minor charm.
"Warm," she said after a moment, a small smile tugging at her lips. "Way warmer than this place, that's for sure. The school sits on a mountain, but the buildings feel… alive. Wooden halls that creak like they're talking back to you. Four houses, each with their own vibe. I'm Thunderbird, we're the adventurers, the ones who chase storms and weird magic."
Aleksei raised an eyebrow, interested. "Sounds soft."
Fila snorted. "It's not. We've got our own kind of crazy. But yeah, compared to this?" She gestured vaguely at the stone walls and roaring fires. "It's like comparing a cozy cabin to a fortress built to survive a siege. Ilvermorny feels like home. This feels like… training."
But this wasn't a good thing to have an conversation about right now, because she really missed the halls of her school. And she wouldn't get to see it until after summer now.
After finishing their feast the students filled out into groups.
Durmstrang worked a lot different than other schools. There were no houses, everyone is just divided by the year they are in. and this would be bad if the school had a lot more students. You see after Igor Karkaroff became headmaster earlier this year, A LOT of students left because their parents didn't want some death eater to be the headmaster.
Which meant there was a shortage of students, but even before this there were no houses.
Something that didn't help the school either was the strict rule of no muggle wizards or witches.
Durmstrang had for long had a role of only accepting Pure blood students, then later changed to accepting half bloods. But they still didn't allow muggles.
Fila listened quietly as Sofia filled in the gaps, the group weaving through the corridors toward the common areas. The lack of houses surprised her more than anything. No Thunderbird spirit pushing her to chase storms, no sorting ceremony that felt like a fresh start. Just years and ranks, strength deciding where you stood.
"Sounds… efficient," she said carefully, keeping her tone neutral. "No drama over house points or rivalries. But also no built-in group to have your back from day one."
Aleksei shrugged. "We make our own groups. The strong stick together. The weak either toughen up or leave. Simple."
Fila nodded, though part of her missed the chaos of Ilvermorny's houses already. The way Thunderbird and Wampus would turn everything into a competition, or how Horned Serpents would debate spells until midnight. Here it felt more… military. Which wasn't entirely bad. She'd come here for structure, after all.
They reached the fourth-year common room. a wide, circular space, with heavy stone arches and long wooden tables scarred from years of duels and spilled potions. The fire in the massive hearth roared higher than the ones in the Great Hall, and thick furs covered the benches. A few older students glanced up as they entered, eyes lingering on Fila for a beat longer than necessary before returning to their conversations.
Sofia dropped into a chair near the fire and kicked her boots off with a sigh of relief. "You'll get the full tour tomorrow. For now, just claim a bed upstairs before someone else does. Girls' dorm is left, boys' right. And don't touch the runes on the walls unless you want a shock."
Fila gave her a tired grin. "Noted. Thanks for the welcome."
As the group started to break up for the night, Aleksei paused beside her. "If you need anything, just ask. And… don't let Karkaroff's little speech get to you. he will be on your ass, only because your name. but I think you will handle it."
"I'm used to it," Fila said, voice light but eyes steady. "Names are just names. What you do with them is what matters."
Aleksei studied her for a second, then gave a short nod of respect.
Up in the girls' dorm, Fila found her bed easily enough — the one by the narrow window, as promised. The room was colder than she liked, but the thick furs and heavy blankets looked like they could smother a yeti. She sat on the edge for a moment, flexing her still-chilled fingers and listening to the low murmur of the other girls settling in.
Her trunk was already there, and she unpacked the bare minimum: a change of clothes, her wand holster, and a letter from Bea which she hadn't read yet. She set it carefully on the bedside table, and sighed.
Nights here were heavier than she thought they would. The fires helped little to lighten the mood, and the outside snow storm which had crept onto the castle made it feel almost locked in.
Fila looked at her letter and felt conflicted. She liked Bea a lot, but was it something she wanted really?
She sat and just looked at it for a long time.
The parchment seemed heavier than it should, the pressed flower seal still faintly fragrant with jungle herbs and something sweeter, the same scent that clung to Bea's hair after a long day in the greenhouses. Fila's thumb traced the edge of the envelope, the familiar looping handwriting visible even through the paper.
Part of her wanted to tear it open right there, to hear Bea's voice in her head, warm and teasing and full of that ridiculous hope she always carried. Another part, the colder, sharper part that had grown stronger since the tournament, wondered if opening it would just make the distance feel worse. Like poking at a bruise to see if it still hurt.
She sighed and set the letter back on the bedside table, unopened. Not tonight. The storm outside howled louder, rattling the narrow window, and the dorm room felt smaller, the heavy furs on the bed suddenly less comforting and more like a cage.
Sofia, already tucked under her own blankets a few beds over, peeked out with one eye. "You okay over there, champ?"
Fila managed a fake smile, "Yup, but its fucking cold." She said and slid under her own blankets.
Sofia snorted softly. "Yeah. I spent my first night here convinced the suits of armor were going to eat me. Turns out they just like polishing themselves at three in the morning. You'll get used to the weird."
Fila nodded, pulling the furs up around her shoulders. The chill still nipped at her toes, but the warmth from the distant hearth downstairs helped a little. She lay back, staring at the dark stone ceiling, the faint glow of runes along the beams casting shifting shadows.
And with the nights pulling in, her eyes felt heavy and soon she fell asleep even with her body protesting with the cold.
She woke up even with her body protesting it, she looked at the clock standing against the wall. 6 am. She blinked a couple of time to see if that was right, and sadly it was.
Fila groaned quietly and buried her face back into the furs for a second, the cold already nipping at her nose and ears. The dorm room was still dark, the only light coming from the faint glow of runes along the ceiling and the distant crackle of the common room fire downstairs. Outside the narrow window, snow swirled in the wind like it had a personal grudge against the castle.
"Too early," she muttered to no one in particular, voice muffled by the blankets. "Even Ilvermorny didn't start this early unless you were stupid enough to sign up for morning flying practice."
Sofia's sleepy voice came from the next bed over, half-buried under her own pile of furs. "Welcome to Durmstrang. Get up before the prefects come knocking with ice charms."
Fila sighed and forced herself to sit up, rubbing her arms vigorously to chase away the chill. The heating charms in her uniform were already working overtime, but the stone walls seemed determined to win. She dressed quickly, dark red robes, black trousers, the fur shoulder cape that actually helped more than she expected, and laced up her boots with a little more force than necessary.
By the time she made it downstairs to the common room, a few other early risers were already moving around. A couple of fourth-years were warming their hands by the fire, grumbling about morning drills. Aleksei was one of them, looking annoyingly awake as he sipped something steaming from a metal mug.
"Morning," he said, offering her a spare mug. "Herbal tea with firewhiskey. Helps with the cold. Don't tell the professors."
Fila took it gratefully, the warmth spreading through her fingers. "You're a lifesaver. Is this what every morning is like?"
"We are just getting started" he said and a hint of 'sorry' lingered on him, which she didn't understand until just ten minutes later she was on her hands doing push ups with the rest of the fourth years.
Morning exercise, a brutal way to start any day. Its good for you but it doesn't feel good while doing it.
For ones she actually felt good about being used to exercising now because the others had already started giving up slowly one after another. All that lifting actually paid of she thought as she saw another one fall face down into the stone floors.
The fourth-years were spread out across a wide training courtyard just off the main hall, snow flurries still drifting down from the gray sky above. A burly seventh-year prefect barked orders from the side, his voice cutting through the wind like a whip.
"Down! Up! Faster, you lot! The mountain doesn't care if you're tired!"
Aleksei was beside her, moving steadily, barely breaking a sweat. Sofia was a few spots down, muttering curses under her breath between reps. Even Victor Krum was there, his broad frame making the exercise look almost effortless.
Fila gritted her teeth and pushed through another set, her breath fogging in front of her. "This… is… evil," she panted, dropping for a quick rest on her forearms.
Aleksei chuckled without missing a beat. "You'll thank us when a troll tries to sit on you during survival class. This is the warm-up."
She turned to him, "The fucking what?" she said out loud unsure if she had heard that wrong or not. The others just laughed and even the prefect couldn't hold his pretended serious face anymore.
The morning routine exercise consisted of strength and stretching mostly. And when the weather would eventually get warmer they would have morning runs. Not a bad routine, something she wished they could have back home, it would make some students become something other than potatoes who don't barley move.
And after that, breakfast which consisted of porridge, dried meat and fish, eggs and some berries. Steady sure, but its not the most appetizing.
Charms just happened to be the first lesson of the year.
The classroom was deep in one of the lower levels of the castle, a wide circular room with high vaulted ceilings and walls lined with ancient tapestries depicting famous duels and spellwork. Floating lanterns cast a steady, warm light, and the desks were arranged in a half-circle around a central platform where the professor stood waiting.
Professor Gudrun was a tall, wiry woman with sharp gray eyes and a no-nonsense braid down her back. She didn't smile when the fourth-years filed in, but there was a glint of approval as she watched them take their seats without fuss.
"Welcome," she said, voice crisp and carrying. "This year we will not waste time on basics. You are here to refine, to push, to survive. Today we begin with shielding charms under pressure. Pair up. No excuses. Grindelwald with me." She commanded, Fila looked at the others and they gave her a sorry look while she made her way towards the professor.
Professor Gudrun waited on the central platform, wand already in hand. The rest of the class paired off quickly, the air soon filled with the crackle of shields and curses.
Fila approached, trying to read the professor's sharp expression. Gudrun's eyes flicked over her like she was sizing up a new blade.
"You come with quite the reputation," the woman said, voice low enough that only Fila could hear. "Let's see if it's earned. Shield. No holding back."
Fila barely had time to raise her wand before a sharp cutting curse shot toward her. She threw up a Protego on instinct, the shield flaring bright green with threads of her own ancient magic. The curse bounced off, but Gudrun followed immediately with a blasting hex that slammed into the shield like a hammer.
Fila adjusted, pouring more power into the barrier. The shield held, but the force pushed her back a step on the stone floor.
"Not bad," Gudrun said, circling her slowly. "But Protego alone is predictable. Adapt."
Another barrage of hexes mixed with transfiguration attempts that tried to turn the floor beneath Fila's feet into slick ice. She countered by using her magic to make plants crack the ice below her, making her able to have some traction against it.
Gudrun's lips twitched, the closest thing to approval Fila had seen from her yet.
"Better. Again."
The lesson turned into a focused duel of its own. Fila held her ground, adapting on the fly, mixing standard charms with bursts of her botanical magic when the pressure mounted. By the end of the class, she was breathing hard, but the thrill in her chest had only grown sharper.
Gudrun lowered her wand, studying her for a long moment.
"You have power, Grindelwald. Raw and unrefined in places. But you think on your feet. very good." She said with a hidden smile.
Fila nodded, chest still heaving.
The professor gave a short, satisfied nod. "Good. Dismissed."
As Fila rejoined the group on the way out, Sofia bumped her shoulder with a grin. "She doesn't usually take personal interest like that. You impressed her."
Fila gave her a ice cold side glance, "She was definitely trying to kill me."
"Take it as a good thing." The group said collected.
The rest of the morning passed in a similar rhythm and focused, demanding, but fair. By the time lunch arrived, she was starting to feel like she might actually belong here. The cold was still brutal, but the structure, the honesty of it all… it felt right.