Sitting Alone (Open)

Iva walked with a certain swagger; the gate that gave her power and attitude. Even with her highly bruised cheek, she felt like king.

Until she realized she was alone. After walking through the train five times, looking for a friend to sit with, Iva realized she didn't have any she would actually sit with. In reality, she was just a small, lonely 3rd year.

Picking an empty seat in the middle of the train, Iva struggled to throw her luggage in the overhead. The mixture of the weight of suitcase and her short height became a detriment as the suitcase decided to fall upon her head.

"I should ha-ff gone to Durmstrang! If I v-as there, I could talk to my brothers and have other friends-" She muttered to herself, her Russian accent stronger than ever. She pushed it up again, standing on her tip-toes. Her skirt brushed her mid thigh as she struggled with the case above her. Her newly dyed red hair had fallen out of its ponytail, draping down her back.

Finally, the suitcase was in its place and Iva plopped into a seat, sighing.

She was ready for the boring, train ride head.

Iva looked up at the boy, a bit startled.

"I guess so," He was young and tall, much taller than her and he had that first year look about him. Seeing that he too was alone, she gestured to the seat across from her, so that he would sit.

"You should be sitting v-ith other first years," She said cooly, looking out the open window with a blank stare. She was sending mixed signals: sit down, going away. Trying to make it look like she didn't care. "You v-ill make friends your own year,"

Pulling a sherbet lemon out of her pocket, she popped it in her mouth with a satisfying hiss.

"V-elcome to Hogwarts, by the v-ay,"

J. J. Jones felt an odd sense of sadness to be leaving her brother behind for another year, but excitment to be going back to hogwarts, a place where she didn't feel quite so...

Off.

Letting her trunk clink along behind her she glanced through each compartment door, looking for a familar face. Last year she hadn't even wanted to venture out to talk to anyone, but this time...

She stopped when she saw Iva through one of the windows. She hesitated a moment; she was sitting with a boy who was probably another Slytherin, and she remembered how the older girl cared about images.

She bit her lip, and looked around her. She really didn't feel like trampling further down the train.

She squared her shoulders. If this boy had a problem than he could deal.

"Hello," she slid the door open and smiled. "The train is filling up fast, would it be so painful for you to have to tolerate a lowly Hufflepuff for a ride?"

When a familiar voice sounded at the door, Iva turned to see J.J., her hufflepuff friend. Were they friends? Iva was sure that J.J. would be mad at her for almost punching her attractive friend, Damian.

But there she was.

"J.J.!" She smiled, waving J.J. in to the seat next to her, "I v-ould love an honorable Hufflepuff to join us!"

"First year olds suck. They are always so scared and insecure, unlike me. I always know what I want", he said while sitting next to her.

Dimitri ignored her mixed signals wondering is she just nervous or really this complicated and looked at the window expecting something interesting to happen right away.

"You Russian or something?", he wondered out loud, probably a bit rude to ask it like that.

Another girl came in and Dimi said hi to her.

Iva looked at the young man and scoffed, surprised. "Know vhat you vant, eh? That is funny."

The boy mentioned her nationality and she rolled her eyes. "Yes, I am. I vas born in Moscow, then moved to St. Petersburg. Now I live with my mother in Wales. " She paused and sighed, suspecting the usually questions, "No, I am not communist, I have seen the Russian ballet, I have never worn a fuzzy hat or drunken vodka, and I will not speak Russian for you,"

She looked at him, bored, "Happy?"

J. J. smiled, happy with warm greeting, at least from Iva.

"Well, then you're stuck with me," she gave a small laugh as she put her trunk away, and plopped down in the pro-offered seat.

She looked at the boy for a moment before introducing herself, "I'm J. J. Jones... I take it from your comments this is your first year at Hogwarts?"

He was certainly much more confident about it than she had been last year... but then again, she got nervous about a wide assortment of things that were unnecisarry.

She gave a slight laugh at the comments, "I think you're missing an opporunity with the fuzzy hats there."

"How was your summer?"

"Likewise, Dimitri Clay Reinhardt, fellow lover of Fuzzy hats," J. J. gave him a smile and a laugh. He seemed to be... she wasn't sure if uncomfotable was the right word to use or not, but either way she was going to as pleasent as she could hoping to dispeal such an attitude.

She raised her eyebrows in interests at the mention of a brother, "Really? What class does he teach?"

Focusing on the last name - which she assumed would be the same - she thought she might have heard it in passing before, but that also could have just been her imagination trying to act like she wasn't completely clueless about half her own school's staff.

"Hats?" Iva laughed, "I will buy one soon then,"

She pulled her knees up to her chest, her skirt inching down childishly. "Summer v-as boring; I spent it in Russia with my Father," She shrugged, "V-hat about you?"

Iva smiled at the mention of the Russian school. "Durmstrang? Some of my brother used to go there. It is nice, yes?"

She watched the two talk, smiling. Throwing her hair over her shoulder again, she noticed a slight attraction between the two. Or, at least, Dimitri's attraction to J.J. So she just watched the two, content with the voices alone.

"Is that some sibling rivialry I detect there, Dimitri?" she asked quirking an eyebrow at the boy.

She let out a long 'oh' at the mention of Care of Magical Creatures. She suddenly had an image of a tallish skinny man, that seemed... not exactly imposing to her, but... reserved.

"That Professor!" she called, keeping back the thought that immediatly came to her brain - which was the man made her slightly nervous - and smiled ruefully, "Well, now I can proudly say I actually know his name."

J. J. turned back to her friend and gave a wistful sigh, "I've never been outside of England. But, then, I guess if you've spent time in Russia it might be considered boring to be again."

She bit her lip as she thought about her own summer, and how she would answer the question.

"My summer was... good, and then again... not so good," she shrugged as if it was no big deal, and turned to gaze out the window, "A little bittersweet, one might say."

"Oh, Russia is fun..." She started, thinking back. "I guess my summer was fun,"

She, of course, left out the fact that her father had screamed at her for low grades this summer, calling her worthless and an idiot. And the fact her brothers loved to beat her up. But, that was normal.

"I understand, J.J." She whispered, tapping the hufflepuff's arm lightly with her fist, "You don't have to tallk about it,"

Iva laughed at the boy, her eyes twinkling. "If you vent to Durmstrang, You v-ould have to learn Russian! And it is not easy," She looked out the window of the train, which had started its decent into the magical journey to Hogwarts. "The people here are nicer... the Russian culture is different than the English. You guys are not used to people kissing your cheeks or not smiling. You are better here, Dimitri Clay,"


Iva paused, realizing she never gave her own name. "I am Iva Popov, by the vay,"

J. J. tilted her head to the side and spoke softly, almost to herself although the others could probably still hear her, "Hate is a strong word... then again so is love, and people seem to have no problem throwing either word around like they are greetings, do they?"

Shaking her head to get out of her slightly mournful query she turned and smiled at Iva, "Thanks."

Then no longer wanting to dwell on the past - she was going back to hogwarts this wasn't the time for 'oh-woe-is-me thoughts' - she put on a large grin and picked a new topic to speak of.

"I would love to know another language - all I can speak right now is little pockets of french," she sighed wistfully.

Eyes sparking with excitment she turned back to Dimitri, "Brother or not, I think Hogwarts is still pretty good - You can have fun, if you let yourself."

Raising an eyebrow at him she tried to make a stern look, but ended up laughing when she probably realized how ridiculous it actually appeared.

"Now, Dimitri, tell me where you traveled," she mock-demanded, "You two are making my summer sound so dull. The most exotic place I went to was Diagon alley."

Despite herself, Iva snorted at the mention of the french language. She took her hair and twisted it in her fingers, giving almost a sneer.

"I hate french," She declared, "It is a silly language," Pausing, she suddenly blushed, "Unless a boy is speaking it, that is,"

She rubbed her nose, trying to cover her blush and pride. Time to change the subject. "My five brothers w-isited me this summer. Even the one on the Russian rugby team,"

"В самом деле?" She looked at him with an appreciative smile, loving the fact he could speak Russian. She put a hand on his leg, leaning close to speak with him. "Где ты научился говорить на нем?"

She snorted at his cocky attitude, letting him have his moment for now. "Only those countries?"


((OOC: Okay, I'll give a Russian translation here, because I hate Google translate: Really? Where did you learn to speak it?)

Iva was about to speak again, but then she noticed his blush. Squeezing his knee, her eyes had a troublesome sparkle. "Russian is so nice." She purred in her native language, "I just love to speak it!"

"That s fine, I guess," She shrugged, finally leaning away, "Turkey is nice,"

J. J. laughed and waved off the french sneer, "I can't say I'm that fond of it myself... but that could just be because I only know about a quater of it, and they all talk so bloody fast its not like I'll catch it.

J. J. sighed at the mention of all the other places, "Well even if that is it you still have me impressed... though I'm easy to impress, so don't let that go to your head."

She laughed merrily, and then watched the go back and forth in a language she couldn't understand but assumed - due to what they were talking about before the language switched on her - that it was Russian.

"Yepp," she nodded in a lull, "Complete jibberish to me."

She gave the leg pat and resulting blush a apraising look before smirking slightly, "But please go on - I'm having fun making up what you could be saying in my head, and yes I am assuming the worst."

Iva chuckled at J.J. English was a sort of slow language, it was true, and french was a bit quick. "At least you know it, yes?"

"Oh, I travel a lot because my father is wealthy. He has factories all over the world," She waved her hand dismissively, "It's no big deal,"

"Gibberish?" She asked, pulling her favorite muggle invention- hand sanitizer- from her pocket. She lathered her hands in it, recoiling for the heavy smell. Sometimes, those muggles had brilliant inventions. "I do not know what that word is. Can you explain?"

"We are just talking about the language and how he knows it. No big deal,"