Finland, Taika

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July 1st 2021

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As soon as the Hogwarts Express had arrived, Opeila said goodbye to the students she had shared a compartment with. Whatever came next- the less people saw it, the better. The young girl didn't want to have too many witnesses who knew that she wasn't going back to Cambridge to her normal halfblood life over summer.

It hadn't taken Opeila long to find the house elf that she had been told would come to pick the new third year up. During the train ride she had taken the letter back out of her bag and checked what the name was again. Abby. And there she was, Abby, a little creature with big ears and a rather clean white cloth wrapped around her. Opeila had seen house elves in Hogwarts sometimes, rarely but sometimes they weren't quick enough to stay invisible to the students. Most of them wore a cloth like Abby, but they were not as white anymore, although they probably had been once.

Carefully she had approached the little being. "Hello. Are you Abby?", she had asked and at the same time asked herself if Abby could understand english. She served a finnish family in a finnish city, surely she never needed to speak other languages than finnish. To her surprise though, the small creature bowed in front of her and answered with a high pitched "Yes, Miss. The masters and mistress are awaiting us, Miss." Abby had held out her hand, she had not turned her face to Opeila once since the Slytherin had approached her. Had she been ordered to keep her head down?

A little unsure, Opeila had taken Abby's hand and almost let go of her luggage when the ground disappeared underneath her. She couldn't see. She couldn't even breathe, as if she was being squeezed through a narrow tunnel that was pressing on her chest. Only a moment later it was over. Opeila landed on her knees on solid ground, cool air filled her lungs. The little girl inhaled deeply, relieved to be able to breath again. "Virtanen Manor, Miss.", Abby informed her, reminding Opeila of a loudspeaker announcement like they were done on trains.

If this had been the first manor of great dimensions that Opeila had seen, she would have been overwhelmed, but after living with the Winter family for almost a month, it was not that much of a big deal. And as she lived in a castle for the rest of the year, dimension were really nothing new to Opeila. Seeing a small town house built for one family would have probably overwhelmed her more, like the one her family used to live in. The little Slytherin had done what she thought was impossible- she had gotten used to the wealthy lifestyle she had been pushed into.

Without waiting for Opeila to get back on her feet, Abby snapped her fingers and her trunk rose in the air to follow the house elf. Quickly Opeila snatched the cat transport box out of the air to let Loras out before she followed.
Abby led her into a gigantic entrance hall with dark red walls that were covered with huge portraits. One of it stood out. It was a family portrait with three blackhaired people on it- a woman and man in their mid thirties maybe and a young man, around 15 years old. All of them were moving just a little, looking down on Opeila, blinking, looking back up. Their shoulders were moving as if they were breathing. All three of them seemed to radiate pride and elegance. Other portraits around showed more action, whispered and and expressed more or less approval of the stranger that had just stepped into their midst.

Jarno Virtanen

Lysander Virtanen

Hilja Virtanen

"That will be enough, Abby, back to the kitchens." Opeila's head snapped in the direction of the voice. A young man with black hair, who looked like a maybe two years older version of the man in the portrait came down stairs and sent the house elf away, who snapped again and made the luggage disappear. "Opeila, wasn't it? Lysander Virtanen, my mother and you have been corresponding." Correspondance. That was one way to put it.

"Yes, that is right... Sir." Lysander laughed and beckoned her to follow him. "Lord and Lady Virtanen for my parents, for me Lysander is quite enough." Opeila hesitantly followed him upstairs. "My parents don't have time to welcome you just yet, they are busy with work. I will show you to your room so you can get settled, if there is anything you need, you can call for Abby. Or me, no promises that I will hear it though." Opeila was a little overwhelmed with how differently she was greeted in this house. The little Slytherin was suddenly very certain that this boy, whom she knew for only a few minutes would have cared more than the Winters had when Opeila had practically appeared on their doorstep, suddenly an orphan.

Like Airlia, Lysander's english was nearly flawless, but she was sure that she had never seen him in Hogwarts. "Um... are you still going to school?" Opeila asked carefully. "Mhm, Durmstrang that is. I'll be in my last year after summer. You are a Hogwarts... fourth year?" "Third after summer.", she corrected.

The two went up two more stairs, then Lysander opened a door to their right. "There we go. Bathroom is the door on the left." Opeila nodded and entered the room. It was not too different from her room in the Winter family's house, but worlds from her home in Cambridge. Her kitchen and living room would have fit into that room without a problem.

Lysander cleared his throat. "We'll be having dinner with my parents later. Will you find your way alone or do you want me to pick you up?" "I'd definitely get lost on my own." Opeila chuckled a little and Lysander sent her a friendly smile. "Alright then. See you in... one hour." With that he closed the door.

One hour. Opeila turned away from the dark wooden door- was it mahogany? And examined her room. It seemed that this family had put some thought into it, the room practically screamed 'Slytherin'. The sheets on the canopy bed were dark green, as were the walls and curtains. There was even a green carpet on the floor. The desk, wardrobe and bookshelf in the room were made from dark wood- probably mahogany as well- and had some elaborate carvings on them. Despite the long windows on one side of the room the furniture gave the room a dark, gloomy atmosphere.

How would the Virtanens know that it was that atmosphere she didn't like about he common room. It made everything feel so small and close. Opeila missed bright walls. The sun when it fell on the birch wood table in the kitchen of their house in Cambridge. Had their neighbors already noticed that it was suddenly abandoned? Of course they would have, it had been a year since half the family died and she and her dad fled. Opeila sat on the green sheets and looked out of a window. The trunk remained untouched where she could see its dark silhouette in a corner and Loras had made himself comfortable on the carpet. At least she would get to see daylight more often in here than in the Slytherin common room.

And she could see the stars from here. The little girl slid from her bed and on the ground, leaning against the bed now. With a sigh she let her head fall back against the fabric. She only noticed now how exhausted she was, from the seven hours train ride, her first apparition and the excitement. The new impressions. Opeila had to say that she was rather glad that there was no portrait in her room. Although they were not alive, they destroyed every feeling of privacy.

Instead the young Slytherin found some white candles on the bookshelf and her desk. Her first instinct was to grab her wand, but of course- no magic outside of school. In a place with that many magical children around she could probably have risked it, but then... if it was found out, what would she tell the Virtanens? Getting them into trouble would be a poor way to repay them for taking her in.

But there was also no need for magical fires, there were matches on the shelf as well and soon the room was glowing cozily. Opeila sat down on the carpet next to her cat and gently stroked his head. "What do you think, are we going to like it here?", she asked him quietly, looking at the shadows on the walls that were created by the shine of the candles. A purr was all response she got.

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And here she was, an hour later, entering the dining hall of Virtanen Manor. Lysander seemed to have sensed her sudden self-consciousness, he gently touched her ellbow and beckoned her to a chair on the left side of the long table, before he walked around it and sat down across her. The master and mistress of the manor sat across each other as well, at the two ends of the table, looking just like they did on the portrait in the entrance hall. Both of them were looking at her, examining her.

"So you are Margary Cranes granddaughter", Lady Virtanen said with a softer voice than Opeila had expected based on her facial expression. The little girl nodded. "You don't look like her. Or her daughter." "You knew my mother?", Opeila asked surprised. Lady Virtanen picked up a glass filled with something that Opeila assumed to be wine and nodded. "We were in the same Hogwarts house. I was a year over her, but I remember her from the Quidditch team. Yes, I went to Hogwarts, I grew up in Wales before I was sent back here."

"Lysander has showed you you room? It should have everything you need." Ah. There was the finnish accent that had been confusingly absent so far. But with Lady Virtanen's childhood in Wales, she supposed it made sense that Lysander and her were both nearly perfect english speakers. "Yes, thank you.", she responded quickly. "Good. To get straight to the plan of the next weeks. We are invited to a ball by the Beckett family in nine days and you will accompany us, that means you and I will be looking for a dress for you to wear. I have taken the freedom to decide for a few. The final choice is yours." Opeila could only stare at Lady Virtanen. She had been made aware of the ball by the letter the woman had sent her, but so far Opeila had assumed that she would be wearing one of her own dresses.

Something squeezed her foot under the table, making Opeila wince. Confused she looked up and met Lysander's gaze, that was apparently supposed to tell her something. But what? "I know you are still new to this way of life, but I thought that your parents would have taught you to be grateful when given a gift." Opeila felt her cheeks heating up and cleared her throat. "O- Of course, I am very grateful, Lady Virtanen, this just... it came unexpected. You really don't have to buy me clothes, I can wear one of my o-" "A plain 'thank you' would have sufficed, Opeila.", Lord Virtanen cut her off and exchanged looks with his wife. The young girl closed her mouth again and nodded. "Thank you.", she then added.

Less was more in this family, something she would keep in mind. The meal- Salmon and vegetables- was taken in more or less silently, making Opeila more uncomfortable by the minute. Was this really it? Had this evening been enough to ruin her first impression? The Slytherin was more than relieved, when Lysander spoke up. "Opeila, how about I show you around the house and garden tomorrow?", he asked. "That would be great, thank you." She smiled shyly. Hopefully that would go away eventually. She couldn't always be afraid to say the wrong thing, right? "Good, that is tomorrow then. Find your way around the house, we don't need you getting lost in here all the time. Your education shall be continued on Saturday then."

Right, her education. The continuation of what the Winters had started.

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Opeila only dared to ask Lysander when they were on their way back upstairs. "Lysander? Who will be educating me? Is there a worker for that here too?" The young man shook his head. "No, I'm afraid you'll have to endure me for a while.", he said, smiling cheekily for a moment, only to get serious. "So- there are some things you should know about my parents, you just did a few things you noticed they didn't approve." Opeila nodded. "I'm listening." "Good, for one- you don't argue or get into disagreements with my parents. Secondly, you obey their orders without acting up. And finally you don't talk them out of things. If they want to do something, they will, if they want to give you a gift, you show yourself grateful. Honestly, they are not that bad, once you get a feeling for it, you'll get along with them like it's the easiest thing in the world. And those rules do not count for your free time or me, just behave with them and with guests or if we are guests."

Lysander opened the door to her room. "There we are. Good night Opeila." The little girl entered her room and turned around again. "Good night, Lysander." With the door closing, Opeila walked to her bed and let herself fall on her back. She was so tired...
Opeila turned her head to the door and smiled lightly. This hadn't been so bad. Even if her new guardians were not the kind of people she could ever see as her new parents... Maybe she had at least gotten a brother.

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