so, this is home?

Paloma dropped her trunk in front of the first empty bed she saw and let herself fall on the mattress.

"Oh, this is nice," she murmured, her eyes closed and her hands running through the soft, silk sheets. That was exactly what she wanted at the moment: a good bed and a nap.

But first, she had to unpack. She sighed and opened her eyes, getting up and opening her trunk. After having put everything in it's place, the Uchitel climbed back on the bed, more comfortable than ever.

Falling asleep almost instantly, she only woke up when she heard the sound of footsteps in the room.

Paloma rubbed her eyes and yawned as she sat up on the bed. She looked at Anya and shook her head, "No, it's okay. I'm a light sleeper and, anyway, I had to get up."

"Is it late already?" she asked, trying to look through a window, but realizing the curtains were closed.

"But already?" Paloma exclaimed, eyes widening. "Merlin, I was only going to take a ten-minute nap."

She got up from the bed and looked for her hairbrush, sure her hair was mess. "Yeah, the train ride was alright," the Uchitel told her, finding the blue brush. "What about you?"

Paloma smiled as she brushed her hair, "Good. Wouldn't want to have missed dinner. I'm hungry."

She went through her bag, she was sure she'd put somehting to eat there earlier that morning. "Aha!" she exclaimed, finding two packs of Lays chips, "Want one?"

"I met Riley," she said, opening her pack, "And I saw Lora as well."

Paloma frowned, but then remembered that Any was a pureblood and laughed a bit. Of course she wouldn't know what that was.

"They're crisps," she told her, "It's a muggle food, my sister got me some. She's very interested in muggle stuff and. . . yeah. You open it like, um, you just. . . " She frowned, not knowing exactly how to explain it. "Here," she took Anya's pack and opened it for her, "That's how you open them."

"Angel LaRue?" she asked, giving Any her crisps back.

Paloma smiled, "It's okay, really. You wouldn't imagine how I acted when I first learned about muggle stuff. Don't feel stupid."

As she took a bit of her crisps, she had to stop herself from laughing so she wouldn't choke. After she swallowed, she smiled. "It's, well. . . the air acts somewhat as a way to keep the chips from breaking, or something. That's what my sister said," she told her," But I think they also happen to double as a money-saving technique. But at least when you feel guilty about eating a bag of chips you can always say 'I didn't eat a bag, I ate half'. "

Paloma nodded, "Yeah, during the summer. She's a pretty cool person."

"Worse," Paloma admitted, smiling sheepishly and putting her brush back on her trunk.

As she ate her crisps, she noticed Anya eating them all. "They really are, aren't they?" Paloma agreed, lauhing softly, "Sadly, I don't have any more. But whenever I talk to my sister, I can ask her to bring some for you. She's always in the Muggle world and all."

Paloma nodded, "So am I. I'm always worried of. . . I don't know, not making a good first impression, you know?"

"Relax," Paloma told her, "You'll learn with time."

"Oh!" she said and nodded, "Yeah, there are other ones. A lot, really." She frowned when Anya handed her money. "Why-" she begun to say before she realized what it was for, "Oh, no. You don't have to give me money, they're not expensive or anything. They're very easy to find, it's no trouble at all and you don't have to pay!"

She walked to Anya's bed and gave her back her galleons, "Here. There's no need for it." She laughed lightly, "Yeah, sometimes I wish I lived there as well. But the wizarding world isn't bad. I mean, it's sort of a priviliedge to have magic, no?"

The Uchitel chuckled, "Well, in times like these, being English makes it better." She nodded, either way, agreeing with the girl, "But I get what you mean. I don't know if you remember me in first year, I was really quiet and didn't talk to anybody because my Russian was terrible, I knew nothing at all. And then summer after first year, when I went home to Germany, it ended up being worse, because then I was only speaking either Russian or English, and didn't know any German." She shook her head, grinning, "It was a nightmare."

"Are you taking Muggle Studies?" Paloma asked, "Cause maybe that could help you understand a bit better."

She sighed and took the money, putting it in her pocket. "Be prepared for a lot of crisps when we come back from half term," she warned, smiling.

Nodding, Paloma told her she understood. "It's fascinating, isn't it?" she frowned, flopping back down on her bed, "How they can live without magic. It just. . . seems so impossible for me, I've grown up with it."

"Grammar sucks," she said, grinning, "But I bet by the time we get back to Durmstrang your English will be perfect."

When Anya started laughing, the Uchitel laughed along with her. She really didn't find it a big deal, it was pretty funny to her as well. "It's okay, I find it hilarious now," she assured her, "Of course, at the time I was really freaked out, but now that I think about it, I was pretty stupid. There are tons of people who speak a little English back at Durmstrang, I didn't have to be so scared of talking to anyone."

Paloma frowned, not understanding what the girl meant. "Why would you be scared of taking Muggle Studies?" she asked.

"Okay, I don't think it's that much," she laughed, "It's definitely a good number of them, though."

"I'd like to try that sometime as well," she commented and tilted her head a bit, "Of course, here at Hogwarts or at Durmstrang would be nearly impossible."

The Uchitel opened her mouth to reply, but closed it and looked down. "Damn, you're right. But you can always visit!" she suggested.

Paloma smiled, "You don't have to apologize, Anya. It's okay. But yeah, you're pretty much going through the same here."

"Oh," Paloma said, nodding. Anya's family must be one of those who don't like Muggles, she thought. They weren't as common as they were back in times of Voldemort, but they were still there and still had power and money. She laughed a bit after that and added, "That's true. I still don't understand why not, though."

"Mine love it as well, they use it for everything they do," she said, "I'm pretty sure only my sister doesn't use magic that often." Sometimes, she wondered if she would end up like them, not knowing how to do anything and having to rely on magic forever. "Maybe when you finish, Durmstrang, then?" the Uchitel suggested, "Or when you're travelling with friends or alone, you can try."

"I'm. . . torn," she admitted, with a sheepish smile, "I mean, I grew up in England. But Russia has Durmstrang, and it's where I spent my school years. And there's also Germany, where it's pretty much my home, though I only spend summer and holidays there, because it's where my parents are, it's where my bedroom is, all my stuff. . ." She shrugged, "I really don't know where I'll live after finishing Durmstrang."

Nodding, Paloma laughed a little, "Oh. Well, your English really isn't bad, you learned pretty well."