Returning with Change

Terry could not believe he was in a different house this time, but hay he was a different person and he just didn't fit into that house any more and that was fine with him. He asked around about some of the things they had been working on. Luckily he had only missed a couple of months and it was time for the Christmas holiday. He was not sure if there was anyone around so he decided to take a seat in the common room and catch up on some of the work.

He hoped the professors had not changed too much since he had been gone. He had heard that Professor Drake was still there and that was cool to him. Most people could not stand her but at one point they had reached an agree he thought. She didn't bother him.

Terry took a seat on the couch and pulled out some books and parchment and got to work.

As he got to work he got to thinking about things and how his life had changed. He was not as much of an outgoing person as he had been or defensive has he had been. He had actually closed himself away from people any more. Every time he opened up his heart it got broke and he was not sure how much more it could take. Of course he was not rude to people and talked he was just scared.

Having finished one paper he looked up when he heard the door open.

Dmitra pushed open the door to the Muhe common room, a wide smile on her face. Of all the places in Durmstrang, she had missed this common room the most, except maybe for the Quidditch pitch. The friends made here, the laughter, the tears........this place simply echoed of memories. She was looking forward to simply curling up on the armchair, in front of the fire with a book, just like the good old days.

Drat. There was someone here already. A guy, probably in her year, was stooped over his work, and on hearing the door open, looked up. Dmitra felt the wide smile on her face fade away. She wanted peace and quiet in her old common room, not some idiotic male who would probably disturb her. Without acknowledging him, Dmitra swept into the common room, took the seat in front of the fire, and began perusing her school satchel for a book to read.

Terry watched as a girl he had never meet walk over in front of the fireplace. For some reason she didn't appear to want to chat so he shrugged and went back to his work. He figured if she was in the mood to chat she would have said something to him. It discovered he liked this most girls were always wanting to chat with him.

Terry didn't mind working in peace and quiet, but he couldn't help but be curious about her. He caught himself looking at her once in awhile just to make sure she was still there that he hadn't been dreaming.

The boy didn't try to make conversation with her, thank Merlin. It was different, and if Dmitra was honest to herself, then she was thankful for it. Right now she just wanted to absorb the feeling of being back at Durmstrang, and read her book, which she continued to do.

The boy kept looking at her. Oh hell. It wasn't a constant stare, but short glances now and then. It was disconcerting, to say the least. Finally, when Dmitra couldn't take it anymore, she looked up from her book, turned to look straight at the boy, and asked in a voice that was polite and accusing all at once, "Is there something on my face?"

Terry had finished up one assignment and went onto the next one. He continued to glance up at the girl once in awhile still. The more he looked at her he realized that she was very pretty, not that he should be thinking.

He had not even noticed that she had noticed him until she had made some comment too him and he had to look up.

"Hmm, no ma'am. I was just trying to figure you out. Sorry." Terry stated honestly.

Dmitra blinked rapidly. Wait, wait, wait a minute. Did the guy just call her 'ma'am'? Politeness was something severely lacking in the male race, and here there was, a guy who she had never met addressing her with so much respect. ........Odd.

"Trying to figure me out? Why exactly? Besides, I don't think I've seen you here before." Then realizing that there was a limit to impoliteness, even if the person concerned was a guy, "My name is Dmitra, by the way. Dmitra Diamante."

Terry smiled a little at her, his politeness had thrown her off a little and that was a good thing. Maybe that meant she was as shy as he was.

"Well I have never seen you around her either so I was trying to figure out what type of person you were." Terry plainly stating. "I mean most girls I know would see me sitting here and practically throw themselves at me. It gets rather annoying really."

Terry gave her a slight smile when she told him her name. "Well it is nice to meet you Ms. Dmitra Diamante. My name is Terrence Lee Charlienco, but I usually go by Terry Lee or Terry."

Terry got up and walked over to where she was and extended his hand to shake.

No wonder the male ego was always so high, if girls really went about throwing themselves, as the guy was describing. Though she couldn't really blame them, the guy was quite good-looking now that she thought about it......whoa, whoa halt your thoughts there Dmitra.....

Dmitra shot another polite smile at the guy as he introduced himself, though the smile was brittle at the edges, "Its uh....nice to meet you too. But I think I'll stick to Terrence, thanks."

Then Terrence offered his hand to her. Ugh, guy germs. Dmitra might have refused if it had been any other guy, but Terrence had been nothing but pleasant and polite so.........Dmitra extended her hand, shook it quickly, and withdrew it within five seconds. Hopefully he wouldn't notice. In order to divert the topic, Dmitra cleared her throat rather loudly, "So.....uh....Terrence. What classes have you signed up for?"

Terry could not help but smile when she told him what she would call him.

"I believe I would have to approve of that, no one uses my full name anymore." Terry smiled at her, it would be something special between just them.

When he offered her his hand she looked as if she was unsure that she was going to take it, but when she finally did even though it had not lasted very but he felt a little spark there. Very interesting.

Terry went ahead and took a seat in a chair close to where she was, but not close enough to invade her space too much.

"Well I have potions, Psychology, and Ancient Runes. The first two classes I were taking the last time I was at the school."

Terry looked over at her and smiled, "What about you?"

Heavens, the way Terrence was smiling at her, it was as if her using his full name just brought them on another level altogether, like it would have been if she had given him a nickname. She only called him by his full name to make things formal for Merlin's sake, ergo, to show him clearly that they were not going to be friends. But, that clearly backfired on her.

And the handshake. Was it supposed to feel like that? Side-effect of the guy-germs maybe?

Oh, shut up Dmitra. Now you're just being plain paranoid and stupid.

Then, Terrence shifted to a seat closer to her. Merlin, was that necessary? And his classes.........ugh. "I have all of your classes too." Dmitra certainly wasn't very happy about it. But well, she had to be realistic, didn't she? Durmstrang was a co-ed school, she couldn't possibly expect all her classes to be devoid of guys.

"Well, I used to take Flying too. Best subject ever created." Dmitra's eyes gleamed with enthusiasm when she talked about the passion of her life. But then her voice grew depressed, "But then our professor left......well, died actually. So I had to opt for Psychology instead. And I also take Dark Arts. The professor is excellent, not at all like what you'd expect."

For some reason Terry felt as if he was making her uncomfortable and that was not something that he wanted to do. Maybe he should go back to his table and work on his assignments.

"I have done some flying and its a nice way to relax. I am sorry about your Professor though that is not good."

Terry looked around a little, "Well I will be glad to partner with you in classes if we need to." Terry was so on a different ground here and he was not sure what to think.

"Well I guess i will go back over to the table and work on my homework then." Terry didn't want to make her anymore uncomfortable than she was.

Uh oh, looked like Dmitra was being just a bit too obvious. Terrence was looking right through her, as if he understood instinctively that he was not welcome. And he was still being as polite as ever. Shit, Dmitra was actually feeling guilty right now. She had definitely over reacted, the guy was just making small talk for Merlin's sake, and there she had to go all unfriendly and give off the touch-me-not vibes.

"Partners? In classes? Yes, I suppose that wouldn't be too bad." Dmitra found herself actually meaning her words. "I have had a few irritating partners in the past, they do nothing and just go on annoying you, and expect you to do everything." Dmitra had a strong hunch that Terrence wouldn't be that sort of partner. He'd probably be quite good, his above average brains shone through his conversations.

Then Terrence spoke about going back to his table. Yes, he had definitely figured out what was going on in Dmitra's mind. Not wanting to appear ruder than she actually was, Dmitra hastened to speak, "No....I mean...uh...you can sit here if you want to. We're taking the same classes, we probably have the same work. We can...um, help each other if required."

Terry smiled when she said that she would not mind being partners, "No I completely understand about that. I have had many partners that used me for the brains I guess you could say. But know especially in potions its a two way street."

Terry was almost made it too the table and then when she told him that he could come back he stopped and turned around and looked at her. He wondered what changed her mind. He could tell that she really didn't want him close to her, but then its not like he was pushing anything onto her.

"Ok let me grab my books." Terry grabbed his books and then came back over by her but not too close.

"So do you have a favorite subject?"

Dmitra rolled her eyes when Terrence mentioned Potions, "You're right about that. Most of the times you've only got an hour to brew, Professor Drake is breathing down your neck at every step, and in that situation, if your partner refuses to contribute, then you can just kiss your potion goodbye."

Terrence had already made it to his table when Dmitra called him back, he turned and gave her a confused look. Dmitra internally rebuked herself, but still smiled politely as if nothing was wrong with the world and that she had no problem whatsoever on associating with him. One thing that kept her from doing what she actually felt was the memory of her father. Alessander Diamante was dead and long gone, but that didn't mean that she had forgotten the manners that he had instilled in her.

So Dmitra just smiled and went on as if nothing had ever happened, "Flying, beyond a doubt. Back when I was living in America and studying in the Salem Institute, there were forests and mountain ranges near my school. I used to sneak out with my broom to fly there all the time." With a grin, Dmitra recalled the thrill, the excitement, the feel of wind in her hair as she dived down mountains. "I like Ancient Runes as well, its very challenging. What about you?"

Terry smiled as he pulled out a book and placed it on his lap.

"So you love to fly, that's great. Maybe sometime you would like to go flying with me?" Terry looked to see if she would agree. He loved to fly, but didn't play quidditch cause his hand-eye coordination was completely off.

"Yes I love a challenge it helps keep my mind focused on other things rather than my life. Ancient Runes is very good for this, I mean each rune can have so many different meanings."

Terry spoke the truth, currently he hated his life and wanted to find something fun and interesting to do and someone to do it with.

Fly? With him? Dmitra was simply digging a deeper and deeper hole for herself. She wanted to keep Terrence as a formal acquaintance, nothing more, but going flying with him would definitely update him to a friend.

But would that be such a bad thing?

Dmitra hadn't flown with anyone in ages. She flew alone, period. The reckless, daredevil stunts she pulled while she flew often proved to be too much to handle for anyone. But then again Terrence seemed like a good flyer, and she hadn't had any competition in ages, so...Dmitra cocked her head to the left, "Well I wouldn't mind flying with you, but I do tend to fly rather fast and recklessly so......" Her voice took on a playfully challenging note, "Are you sure you can keep up?" Terrence just said he loved challenges. Lets see how he reacted to this one.

Then Dmitra's brows scrunched up in confusion. Focus on other things rather than his life? "Don't you like your life?" She asked in a curious voice. "You find it uninteresting?"

Terry smiled a little when she said that she would fly with him. He was a ok flyer, but he was not sure if he could truly keep up.

"Well I would certainly love the challenge as long as you don't smear me too bad.". Terry said with a laugh.

When she asked about his life he was unsure how to answer it, he life was so complicated and had never talked to anyone about it he always just ran from it.

"I feel very lost when talking about my family. My past is very complicated."

Humility. Wow. Now that was a rare quality. Especially in a guy. If she had thrown open that challenge to any other guy, then Dmitra would have bet her life that he would have bragged, or boasted, or simply said something like "We'll see." Terrence on the other hand, was actually willing to contemplate defeat at the hands of a girl.

Maybe he isn't as bad as I thought.

So, Dmitra simply said gently, "I'm sure you aren't half that bad. Besides, I was just kidding. Flying is about having fun, not about seeing who is better than the other."

Terrence was looking unsure about how exactly to reply to her question. Dmitra knew that the best of problems could be solved by a willing, listening ear. "Its alright. I don't mind if its complicated, you can tell me. Of course, " Dmitra then added. "If you don't want to share, then that's alright. You've only just met me after all."

Terry had to smile a little because as he continued to talk to Dmitra a little she seemed to be relaxing a little.

"I have to agree, but a little friendly competition between friends can be fun." Terry knew they could bet on about anything at this stage of the game.

Terry looked at her when she said she would be willing to listen.

"Well I do not have anyone else to talk too, no one knows what has happened to me." Terry sighed

"I lived with a adopted family until I was 10 and then they died. After they died I discovered not only was I adopted, but that I was not who I thought I was." Terry stop there to let her have a moment to catch with her thoughts and any questions.

Friendly competition? Oh, once Dmitra started competing with a guy, nothing remained friendly anymore. In fact, everything turned ugly really fast. But then again, if there was one guy that Emitra supposed could be counted upon not to bring his ego into a friendly game, it would be Terry.

Then Dmitra blinked rapidly, allowing Terry's story to sink in her brain. It sounded unbelievable, but Dmitra had no doubt that he was speaking the truth. After all, some pretty unbelievable things had happened to her too. She wrinkles her brow in confusion, "You were not who you thought you were? What do you mean by that?"

Terry sighed a little as he began his story.

"I was told I was a muggle by the name of Terry Okinawa and I lived in Japan and everything with my family. I lived that way for as long as I could remember until a year before I came to Germany. That was when I found out who I was with the help of a friend of my sisters. They had changed her memory too."

Terry knew there was a lot to his story and if this girl was willing to listen to him then he was willing to tell it.

Wow. That was a lot to take in. To live as someone else for an entire lifetime, and then to suddenly realize that your whole life was a lie......Dmitra couldn't imagine what that might feel like. "I'm .....sorry. I can't imagine what that must have been like for you."

"But why would someone change your memories? Is there....something else behind the story?" Dmitra asked slowly, not willing to intrude, but somehow not being able to hold back her curiosity either. "And I didn't know you had a sister. Where is she now? Is she older than you?" Dmitra knew she was bombarding Terrence with questions, but she longed to get to the bottom of the matter.