Date:	July 15th 2024
Dialogue:	#011d57

A small smile appeared on Lev’s face as he listened to Tristan. All of these wizards he was talking about all sounded so amazing. And one of them was even muggle-born like him. For a moment, his worries melted away, but then another thought crossed his mind: he would never be as great as those wizards.

He knew nothing about the wizarding world; not even about those great and famous wizards. How was he, Lev Makarov, supposed to become as talented and powerful? It seemed impossible to him. Even as a regular human he sucked. The boy could already see himself being the absolute worst of the class.

“T-Thank you for believing in me..” Lev said, smiling up to Tristan. He really didn’t want to disappoint him. “I want to make a difference in this world, I truly do! But..” Lev sighed. “I don’t think I can prove muggle-born people are talented wizards..” His face was bright red in embarrassment. “B-Because I don’t think I myself can be a talented wizard.”

Speaking about his worries immediately made Lev feel lighter. He knew Tris would support him. If he spoke to his siblings, either they wouldn’t know how to comfort him or they’d tease him. It wasn’t the case with Tristan. With him, simply speaking to him was enough to somewhat alleviate Lev’s anxieties.

@Tristan Theramin

Outfit/Physical Characteristics Reducio Dark Navy Button-up Shirt, dress shoes, and skinny jeans Blonde Hair Hazel/Blue Eyes 174 cm	Languages English Parseltongue French Hebrew Spanish German Russian Thoughts	Age 15
Mentioning/Interacting @Lev Makarov	Location London Qidditch Stadium	IC Date July 15th

Hello

Tristan smiled in response to the more joyous facial expression on the younger boy’s face, slightly more reassured that his words had at least helped the other gain confidence for the moment. As the young boy thanked him for his words, Tristan responded emphatically, “Do not thank me for what is right and should be normalised. There is truly nothing to thank me for. I do not want you to be convinced by rhetoric and lies even if you only hear it once in your lifetime. Talent has no meaning in the face of hard work and study. There are many muggleborns who come in with great dedication rather than talen who surpass their fully wizard blooded peers, due to practice and passion. Study hard and you might even get to learn things in advance of your peers as I have the ability to do. ” With these words, Tristan would change the world for some. Although the Pureblood rhetoric had died down, it was true that the ideas promoted by Lord Voldemort may still exist to this day. Mudblood was still a slur that was used. He strived for a world where people did not even know the slur word and students who were Muggleborn were not thrust in the deep end expected to know Wizarding Culture on a whim, when of course they wouldn’t.

Date:	July 15th 2024
Dialogue:	#011d57

Everything Tristan was saying made sense. Lev just had to work hard and everything would work out. Right? Well that was the logical conclusion anyone would be able to make, and yet, Lev wasn’t able to simply relax and think to himself: Everything will be ok.

All the horrible and practically impossible possibilities flashed through the boy’s mind: What if he failed so bad, all the progress towards promoting equality between all wizards would collapse? What if he humiliated himself and be the laughingstock of the school? Deep down, Lev knew these ideas were absolutely ridiculous and would never happen, yet they still plagued his mind, making the young boy a nervous wreck.

“I promise I won’t let these people make me believe I’m inferior.” Lev said quietly. He really wanted to believe it.

“I guess.. I just want people to be proud of me.. You, my parents, .. myself.” He didn’t want this fake pride; the same kind people used when they complimented their children’s ugly drawing. No, Lev wanted people to pay attention to him and look at him with more than pity in their eyes. He wanted them to look beyond his scars, his acne and his arms too long for his body. He wanted it desperately, but he knew that wasn’t enough.

@Tristan Theramin

Outfit/Physical Characteristics Reducio Dark Navy Button-up Shirt, dress shoes, and skinny jeans Blonde Hair Hazel/Blue Eyes 174 cm	Languages English Parseltongue French Hebrew Spanish German Russian Thoughts	Age 15
Mentioning/Interacting @Lev Makarov	Location London Qidditch Stadium	IC Date July 15th

Hello

xxxxxTristan carefully observed the young boy's reaction and he noticed that there was still something preventing the student from being completely convinced. There was something still there in the young boy's mind that was worried about the future and it was confirmed with the following words, "[color=011d57]I promise I won't let these people make me believe I'm inferior. I guess... I just want people to be proud of me... You, my parents...myself."" Tristan considered the words the young boy exclaimed, trying to deduce why the other desired so badly for people to be proud of him. Tristan even wondered why the young boy would want a stranger such as Tristan to be proud of him. In a healthy child, Tristan had found that most did not care about the opinions of others as much as those who were lacking emotional support and comfort.

xxxxxHe worried that this young boy in front of him had grown up without enough love and was using his newly found magic to create pride for himself in a way to get that attention any child needed. Tristan also was not certain of this, it could just be a young child's desire to be the best in everyone's eyes, but he would observe the young boy through summer camp and through his time at Hogwarts to determine if the young boy would need more emotional support than others. This thinking was not betrayed in Tristan's face as he had always had a good control over displaying his emotions even more so when his grief had caused him to become cold and uncaring, some years ago. "Being inferior is not a bad thing. Sometimes being the best at something can lead to hubris and pride and a lack of care for others. When I was younger, I was certain I needed to be the most superior wizard at Hogwarts academically and socially, because I was using it to distract from my grief. I spent years pursuing academics and manipulating others and it never fulfilled me. Now, in some ways, I enjoy being inferior to others in areas, because I can be proud of the people around me and we can complement each other in the areas that we struggle in and we are good in.

xxxxxTristan continued with a gentle smile and love streaming out of his eyes for the younger child, "I will be proud of you if you try your best, that is all." Tristan always found himself caring and loving for younger children at Hogwarts these day, and it was easy for him to start to love them as if they were his younger siblings quickly.

Date:	July 15th 2024
Dialogue:	#011d57

Those words.. "I will be proud of you if you try your best." It made Lev realize that Tristan didn't understand at all. That wasn't enough for Lev. He knew it was wrong, but he needed more. He needed to deserve the pride.

"You're too kind Tristan and I am truly sorry, but I don't agree with you-" Lev had a somewhat determined look on his face as he looked up at Tristan. He wanted him to understand. "I-I don't care if I have hubris or a lack of care for others! I want to be someone strong. Not someone that everyone needs to baby!" As Lev spoke, he could feel the tears start to well up in his eyes. He wanted them to stop, but it was like they kept coming like a broken faucet. Ever since that day, everyone had looked at him differently and he was tired of it. Lev simply wanted to return to before that. Back when everything was ok.

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell..." The young boy knew his old self would have never reacted like that either. He used to be cheerful and sociable, someone everyone enjoyed. And now Lev felt like he was a bringer of woes to anyone he met.

@Tristan Theramin

Outfit/Physical Characteristics Reducio Dark Navy Button-up Shirt, dress shoes, and skinny jeans Blonde Hair Hazel/Blue Eyes 174 cm	Languages English Parseltongue French Hebrew Spanish German Russian Thoughts	Age 15
Mentioning/Interacting @Lev Makarov	Location London Qidditch Stadium	IC Date July 15th

Hello

xxxxxTristan cocked his head in a way that signaled that he was observing the young boy intently. There seemed to be a determination in the younger boy to prove something of himself. This was proved by the words that Lev exclaimed soon after, "[color=##011d57]You're too kind Tristan and I am truly sorry, but I don't agree with you. I-I don't care if I have hubris or a lack of care for others! I want to be someone strong. Not someone that everyone needs to baby![/color]" At these shouted words, Tristan turned sharp and the motherly tone changed into one also of determination and strength, which revealed exactly how powerful Tristan could be.

xxxxxHe was sixteen, but his life experiences had matured him far faster than his peers. This shouted expression that the young boy exclaimed did not affect his composure at all. This was the first time Tristan displayed how dangerous he could be, how precise and cold he could be. "If you do not want to be babied, then do not act like a child. But you are a child. Being the best does not matter in the long run. You will graduate and even if you are the best wizard as a student, you will fade into obscurity like everyone else, if you do not make an impact in the world. What matter do other's people's opinion have? This is a childlike thought. What other people think of you does not matter in the slightest. If you live life with the purpose of creating a certain reaction from the people around you rather than creating a standard within your self, you will become a caricature."

xxxxx"Many great wizards were great not because they had a strong reputation or were not babied when they were children, no they were great because they pursued what they and only they wanted, no matter what others thought of it or them." Tristan's smile pursed his lips and looked into the young child's eyes because he believed that the other boy could stand these mature questions and asked, "Do you want to be great? Then, be great. But I promise you that greatness is not defined by what people think of you or how you are treated by them. If it was, then many people who in our modern day is defined as great would fail to fulfill that term."

xxxxxTristan was a unique individual and it showed in his regal power and his sharp facial structure. Although he was motherly before, his tone had changed to show the younger child that greatness truly did not originate from the lack of babying or being strong based on the opinion of others. It was a lesson that needed me to learned quickly or else the young boy could be swept up by vain glories and unnecessary strivings to be socially powerful, as those in Slytherin often strived to do, placing him in great danger of manipulation. Many people would turn to whatever crowd who declared one's greatness or provided a place of camaraderie, which could lead to dangerous paths. No, the young boy must learn that instead strength and greatness came from being able to stand one's ground even when everyone was treating you in a way that you did not want to be, to stand one's ground when everyone was against you, and to stand one's ground when nothing was going your way.