Tea With the Petrovs PV Closed

 "𝓒ome, Katerina, we're going to see the Bishops." When Katya had heard this, she wasn't sure what to think. Who were the Bishops? Why were they meeting with them? And why did Katya have to go? Perhaps it was some kind of play on 'family unity', or maybe they wanted to show off that each and every one of them happened to look just alike. In a t-shirt dress that was blue and tight on her legs, going down to just above her knees like most of her dresses, she sat loyally in the back of her parents' car with her mother, Natalina, and her brother, Mikael. Her father, Nikolai, sat in the front with their driver Erik, whom they had taken with them on their jet to England. 

 𝓢he had never been to England before, mainly visiting cities such as Milan or Paris, London was a difference. The buildings were stone and tall, looking as though they have been standing for centuries. Cars beeped their horns through the busier streets, side roads appearing to be abandoned. The sky was never void of clouds, one or two passing over the sun every few hours even in the summer. The roads were smooth though, which made the ride to the tea shop even more comfortable for the family of four. Alexandre should be with them too, but he had taken up an offer to spend his summer with his friend's family in Egypt.

 𝓚aterina couldn't count the times she had wished to go with him on one hand. She would rather go on adventures through tombs and pyramids with her brother than sit through a boring afternoon tea with her parents and brother. She squirmed a little, her hip bumping her mother slightly. Natalina quietly scolded Katya, telling her to be still in rushed Russian. The young girl obeyed, a pout on her face as the seatbelt sat uncomfortably across her chest.

 𝓘t took no longer than twenty minutes to arrive at their destination. The entire time, Katya trained her amber eyes on the GPS showing the way. She constantly readjusted her dress, finding sitting in it was causing her quite the bother. Maybe she was just eager to get on with it and head back to the hotel. They would be staying in England in the closest 5-star hotel to the airport for two weeks. She wasn't looking forward to being away from Russia for so long, especially when she was still struggling with her English in parts.

 𝓞ne by one, the Petrovs exited the vehicle after Erik opened the back door of the BMW. Katya's mother was first, with her sunglasses covering her eyes and white gloves. Then, the raven-haired girl followed, clutching onto her mother's hand for dear life as she exited. The two of them began to the door of the tea shop, where her father was already standing holding the door open. Mikael followed behind the two ladies, taking the door from his father to let him walk in first, being used to the one to enter last. 

 𝓝ikolai straightened out his suit, Natalina fixing the handkerchief that was neatly folded in his chest pocket. Every last feature of the family shouted 'REFINED!', down to the shine on Katya's black dolly heels. They only increased her height by an inch or two, but they were enough to make her want to sit down. No matter how used to it she was, she liked to complain about anything she could. Soon enough, Natalina caught sight of the Bishop family, and took Nikolai's hand, walking them over. Katya and Mikael walked side-by-side, the older sibling running his fingers through his short black hair.

 𝓣he three elder members of the Petrov family took a seat around the table after Nikolai had shook Aaron Bishop's hand. Before Katya could follow suit though, she was approached by a brightly red haired girl, causing her to put a smile on her face. Her parents had already taught her the charismatic approach when it came to meeting other families and people, and having done this thousands of times, she was used to it. Even though all that she wanted was to sit in the seat only a little past the other girl.

 "𝓗i, Rhea," Katya greeted, taking the opportunity to reach out her hand in order to offer a handshake. Her Russian accent was harsh on her words, and she had accidentally rolled her 'R' in the other girl's name. She cleared her throat before continuing, trying her best to soften it at least a little bit. "My name is Katerina Anya Petrov, but you may call me by Katya." She introduced herself in exchange, sparing a glance to her brother, who was involved in the conversation already. Then to her mother, who seemed to be smiling at Katerina fondly.

 𝓢he looked back at the other girl. Hopefully, they would be able to get along.


𝓜eanwhile, at the table..

𝓝ikolai shook the other man's hand firmly, a warm smile on his face. He had definitely met more than enough people to figure out the ways of business, and he knew that this family wouldn't have wanted to meet him unless there was a good reason for it. And Nikolai never set out to meet people usually, he insisted on them coming to meet him at the Petrov Chateau in Nizhny Novgorod.

 𝓗e took his seat directly across from Aaron, his wife Natalina sitting on one side of him, and his son Mikael on the other. They all had quite the resemblance, save for Nikolai's graying hair. At the age of thirty, he had somehow found enough to stress about. That, or potion-making was taking a toll on him somehow. They had raven black hair, sharply pointed noses, high cheekbones and full lips. Though the one thing that differed was that Nikolai and Mikael had blue ocean eyes, while Natalina had a chocolate brown. It was a wonder how their youngest daughter, Katya, inherited a shade of amber eyes. 

 𝓒learing his throat, Nikolai leaned his forearms onto the edge of the table, looking closer at the family. "What have we come here for today?" He questioned, wanting to get straight to the point. Natalina placed a hand on his upper arm softly, pulling him back into a proper seating position, causing him to mutter a small apology in her direction. Instead, she took the initiative in the conversation. Being the lead designer for her own fashion line caused her to find a voice of authority in these conversations, even without trying.

 "𝓦hat my husband is meaning to say, is we hope that this is on a happy matter. Making new friends, no?" Natalina asked, a smile on her perfectly painted lips. The red was a sharp contrast to the rest of her features, providing a type of allure to onlookers. Perhaps to a few of the paparazzi outside of the window that had taken a few snaps. Muggle paparazzi made the woman roll her eyes - they were so pointless, with their still pictures. At least wizard reporters had the flair of magical photos. "We hope life is treating the Bishop family well. Now, shall we get some tea?" She offered, raising a hand to signal for a waitress or waiter.

The girl, Katya was her name, didn't seem as uptight as other pureblood children did. Sure, she had a long and fancy name, and sure, she had a heavy accent - but Rhea didn't mind. In fact, she found the girl's accent fun. Never in her life had she met anyone with a Russian accent. She'd met plenty of people with accents, seeing as she traveled to various places with her family, but never Russia. Most of the places they visited were warm, seeing as the Bishops usually traveled to get away from the cold and dreary weather. Katya's accent was a nice change from the ordinary British accents she heard.

The girl extended her hand, probably for a handshake, and Rhea shook it with just the right amount of enthusiasm - not too much, not too little. Again, her father's lessons ran through her head as she thought about the right front to put up against the girl. The calm, cool, and collected front. Taking a seat next to Katya, Rhea pressed her lips together and rubbed her hands. What were they to talk about? Her eyes wandered around the tea parlor, taking in the sights. The giant chandelier hanging in the middle of the ceiling, the diamonds on it glittering with the sparkle of the sun; the chairs with the intricately made cloth wrapped around them; and their parents. The Russian's parents, in particular. Rhea noticed she had a brother, but he stuck to the adults rather than them. The Petrov family looked very well put together - Rhea could understand why. From what she had heard, Natalina Petrov, the mother, had a very esteemed fashion brand, and the father was a well-renowned potioneer. Rhea didn't understand how they were so high status (seeing as the only purebloods her family associated with were Ministry workers) but her mother had crushed her thoughts and simply told her to accept it. Rhea didn't care enough to fight it, and obeyed her mother.

Turning her attention back to the raven-haired girl, Rhea smiled. Her red hair was slowly falling out of its up do, and the tendrils curled around her face were causing mild discomfort. Trying to brush them back into her hair, Rhea smiled at the girl sitting opposite her. "It's nice to meet you, Katya," she said, biting her lip as she attempted to pin back the baby hairs. Thinking of what topic to bring up, Rhea tilted her head as she remembered that the school year would start in a few weeks. She'd be attending Hogwarts! Finally, she would get a chance to be with others like her, all the time. Of course, she'd be sorted into Slytherin, and her parents would be proud of her. Right? And not only would she be attending Hogwarts, she'd also see her brother for the first time in a long time. She hadn't seen him in a while - two months? Three months? It didn't matter. What mattered was that she missed him, and she was ever so happy she would get to see him, finally.

"Will you be attending Hogwarts? Or some other wizarding school in Russia?" Rhea questioned, wanting to know the answer. If the answer was yes, then the redhead could have a friend even before she arrived to Hogwarts. Hopefully, this girl was a Slytherin legacy as well, and so they'd be together in Slytherin.

[font=times new roman]𝓣he aura that the young Bishop girl gave off was... cold. Katya wasn't sure how to describe it. Could it be considered being rude, or was it the normal way people happened to act? Growing up around nothing but kindness to all wizards, save those who were mudbloods, she wasn't sure how to react. They both sat at the table beside each other, and the young Petrov girl finally let her eyes wander up to Rhea's updo. Her hair was a brilliant red, one that looked as though it belonged, and it suited her well. "Is it natural?" She asked, curiously, "Your hair, I mean."

𝓦ith a look around the table, Katerina was more than capable of telling that the family consisted mainly of blondes. It was the opposite to the Petrovs, who all had black hair as dark as obsidian. It was interesting to see the two families sat at the same table; two families from very opposite worlds. She looked to Rhea's mother just as she began talking about her daughter's hair, how it wasn't naturally ginger. Well, that answered her question. Katya's lips parted, and she turned to look at the other girl once more, "What did you do to it?" She inquired, eager to know the story.

𝓘f she could change her hair colour magically, she would have turned it something pretty, such as the blonde colour that Rhea's parents possessed. Having dark hair her entire life, she was always vying to be lighter-haired. Perhaps one day, when she learned magic properly instead of watching her parents use it to clean the house or fix something, she would be able to do just that. But if there was a way to do it now, before they had even gone to school, Katya had to know.

______________________________

𝓜eanwhile, at the table...

𝓝ikolai reached over towards his wife and took her dainty hand up into his own. She was the light of his life, the stars in his galaxy, and he was happy to show that to anyone who would look. He shot a jolly smile in her direction, past his mustache, then turned to the Bishops who had begun speaking. He wasn't one for conversation, so for majority of the time he had sat back in his seat with his hands linked together in front of him on the table.

𝓣he woman of the family's eyes trailed to the little redheaded child that was at the table next to her own daughter as she was mentioned, observing her appearance. She did look as though she had been ginger from birth, but it was known that magic could do just about anything. She didn't have much to say about Katya except for topics that were meant to be kept secret. Instead, they just smiled and nodded, trying to participate in the conversation as much as they could.

 𝓘t was when they had asked a question that Natalina spoke up once again, not finding a suitable time beforehand. She grinned, shaking her head while sparing a glance out of the window, "No! Nothing that is too bad. Of course it is nothing like the snowfall of Russia." She let out a laugh, squeezing her husband's hand that she had taken back from him. They were one of the couples that still happened to act young, as though age didn't have much of an effect on them at all. Which it didn't - on their relationship, at least.

 𝓢he chuckled at the small excerpt of her life that Mrs. Bishop had shared, along with Nikolai. Their son was too engrossed in his cellphone to be a part of the conversation, which Natalina was sure was not a good example for Yekaterina. Regardless, it would be more embarrassing to their family to call him out on the matter than to ignore it. Natalina drew her gaze away from her son and back to the other woman at the table, "Always pack a parka when you're thinking of going to Russia. You never know when the snow will hit." She told her sincerely, just as the waitress approached the table.

 𝓝ikolai ordered himself a cranberry muffin from their pastry menu, and a coffee with extra cream in it, while Natalina ordered a green tea with four spoonfuls of sugar in it, and a blueberry muffin with apple juice for her daughter. She still didn't let Katerina drink any sort of caffeine, worried that it would stunt her growth even more than it already has. After she left, Nikolai looked to Mr. Bishop, lowering his voice. "Why did you call us from Russia for simple friendly conversation? There has to be more to it, no?" He interrogated, raising one of his bushy eyebrows.

Red hair was not a common trait among Bishops - or rather, it was not a common trait in general. It would make sense for one to be confused as to why Rhea, whose origins stemmed from a family of blondes (on both maternal and paternal sides, mind you). And this wasn't the first time someone asked her what had happened with her hair. Unconsciously, a finger came up to twirl a lock of hair that had come undone from her complex updo. If she was to be honest, she couldn't really remember what had happened in order for her to end up with red hair. All she knew was that one second she was standing near a bookshelf with blonde hair, and the next she was laying on the ground with red hair.

Looking over at Katya, she thought that the Russian wanted some sort of complex, interesting story, something that would astound her. Biting her lip, Rhea realized that her own story was nothing too interesting, so she decided to tell a version of the truth. It would have some aspects of the truth, but she would add a few pieces here and there to make it fun and interesting.

Leaning in to Katya, Rhea's eyes twinkled with a spark. Never had she gotten a chance to tell a story, and quite frankly, she didn't know if what she would say would make any sense. Nevertheless, it wasn't in her nature to ever be shy, so she rushed straight ahead with her story.

"It was late at night, you see, and I couldn't sleep. So I headed down to our library, you know how we have a built in library," Rhea couldn't help but stick in a little brag in there, her father would be proud, "And I was looking for some sort of book that would, you know, make me un-bored. I found something that looked interesting and the second I opened it, BAM! Something popped out and I tried to fight it but it was too strong for me, so it knocked me to the ground. Next thing I know I was waking up and the book was back in the shelf like nothing had ever happened, so I decided to go to sleep. The next morning, my nanny woke up and almost screamed. Why? Because I had red hair!" Rhea took a deep breath at the end of her monologue and grinned sheepishly, realizing how unbelievable her story sounded. However, she didn't care. It was her story and she could do whatever she wanted with it!

Her parents never minded lying. In fact, they lied all the time when they were at parties. Sometimes, they even lied about Rhea. Even though she hadn't yet attended Hogwarts, they told their friends that she had and that she was among the top of their class and, of course, in Slytherin. Rhea had no choice but to go along with them, and she'd even sometimes step on her tip toes to make herself seem taller. She loved her parents (even though they rarely showed their love) and no matter what, she would do anything to make them happy and proud of her. Besides, she doubted they would mind her simply exaggerating the story a little bit. If she did what they did, there was no harm done. At least, that was the way Rhea thought.

 S[font=Monotype Corsiva]TORIES[/font] were a favourite of Yekaterina's. Tucked up into her bed, her mother used to read brilliant stories to fuel her imagination. Ones of princesses that seized the day, and of ambitious evil queens that won the fight. They were the kinds of people Katya wanted to be, herself. A type of person she strove to be. And maybe one day she would be able to be just that - a princess that conquered the world, or an evil queen that can take down anyone in her path to find the way to success. This was what Katya thought her mother was.

 Something about the story that Rhea told reeled Katya in, causing her to lean slightly forward in her seat. She hoped with all of her might that her mother didn't catch it - she would surely be reprimanded for not sitting straight up. When that thought entered the girl's mind, she leaned back in her seat, a small breath escaping from in between her pink-red lips, "Wow," She mused, clearly believing every word that the red-headed girl said. How else would someone have gotten red hair magically without a spell? A monster just made sense.

 "That really happened? That's so interesting!" Katya called out, receiving a sharp glance from her mother. That alone was enough for Katya to blush profusely, burrowing into herself slightly as she tilted her head down, diverting her gaze from her lap. After taking a moment to compose herself, she cleared her throat slightly, looking back up to the blue eyes that the Bishop girl acquired. "I meant to say that it is good you didn't get hurt. At least it was just your hair, and not your whole body. Imagine if your skin was red. Quite unattractive, no?" 

 Surely, that had to be a good enough recovery from her sudden outburst of excitement. Her mother would have been proud of her. That was, if she was listening. But obviously, the adult conversation taking place around the two younger girls of the bunch was too interesting to leave.