& the early worm gets the bird {Dani}

[RAINA VALERIYA SOLOKYOV]

Despite having been in the United Kingdom for the past three years of her life, Raina has very rarely visited the wizarding town of Hogsmeade. This fact by itself was very strange. Having traveled across much of Europe and parts of Asia, one skill she had garnered quickly was the ability to hop, skip and jump all over the particular region she was visiting. As an Auror Trainee, and now a newly-made Auror, Raina had had very little time to do the little bits of exploring that she was so fond of. She had decided to take advantage of the time she had available to do so.

The few times that she had gone to the town, the place overflowing with students. Evidently she had a knack for choosing the time to pop into Hogsmeade for a bit of a visit as the town was currently filling to the brim with excited, chattering students. The smattering variety of English, Scottish and Irish accents that rang through the air brought a smile to her face. Although she may not always admit it, Raina had always fancied different accents, particularly if the accent was not her own. Despite having resided in the same general area for the past few years, Raina has yet to be so familiarized with the common accent as to be bored with it.

With the brisk fall air reddening her cheeks, Raina hummed under her breath as she strolled down the road. She passed by several interesting establishments, all of which contained bright, happy students with their eyes lit up at the sight of candies, pranks, and many other otherwise difficult to obtain objects. Raina paused at the sight of the bustling pub: The Three Broomsticks. Curious to see the appeal of the place, Raina opened the door and managed to push her way up to the bar.

“Can I have a-uh... butterbeer?” she asked after a few moments of twisting her head awkwardly to the side as she tried to made out the faded words on the menu. The impatient waitress who seemed annoyed that Raina had not come prepared to order a drink. The exhausted woman nodded and trailed off to fill her drink order, but not before she was distracted by another patron. The fact that her drink may take longer to get to her than normal was fine with her. While waiting, Raina allowed her gaze to drift about the crowded establishment.

The air in the pub was humid, but the atmosphere was jovial and relaxed. Looking about, it was easy to see that The Three Broomsticks was also not exempt from the hustle and bustle of students. It was easy to see that a large majority of the patrons were students from Hogwarts. More them a few of the tables were fully occupied by students and then more, where students had decided to stick together at one table. A few of the patrons could be picked out as chaperones for the trip, some more happy about the fact than others.

[DANILO VIKTOR FLYNN]

He absolutely loved Hogsmeade. Well, hell, there really wasn't a student out there who didn't love Hogsmeade (at least, most that liked fun anyway), but Dani especially loved Hogsmeade. It was the perfect way to mingle with new people, students and locals alike. Though he loved his friends dearly, it does get a little boring associating with the same people every day for him. As a naturally energetic youth, he craved excitement, and while his exploits borderline madness, the gryffindor still liked the bouts of energy that came with meeting new people. Dani knew too; the best place to mingle would always be the Three Broomsticks.

Dani breathed in the relaxed atmosphere upon walking in, taking in some periodic information that would come his way from the more chatty students at the tables. It wasn't too surprising considering the amount of activity that had been going on lately in Hogwarts. The halloween feast was coming up shortly and indeed, so was the first task in the tournament this year. The first quidditch game wasn't too long ago as well. However, he had already received what information he could on the subject, and therefore, remained as a secondary objective for this trip. He was sure someone would let him know if new information came up anyway.

It took a few moments, but the gryffindor managed to make his way to the bar, hopping up on one of the seats with a small smile dancing on his lips. He noticed there were a few adults lingering in the place as well, some chaperones, others probably locals. At least, that's what he thought until he could make out the hinting of a Russian accent among the throng of people. Now that wasn't something he heard every day. Dani quickly whirled his head around to further down the bar table, trying to figure out where that came from. Though difficult, enough listening narrowed it down to a brunette just a few seats down.

He waved the waitress over, asking, ”Water, please,” before moving over closer to the woman. The sixth year managed to squeeze a seat beside her, outstretching a hand to her. ”Hi there!” he greeted, ”Not often you find a Russian in Hogsmeade. Don't usually hear an accent like that til I see my mother.”

[RAINA VALERIYA SOLOKYOV]

As she waited for her drink to be brought forth to her, Raina continued to survey her surroundings, taking note of some of the students here and there along with some of the more grouchy looking chaperones. Whether this assessment of her environment came from her Auror training or natural curiosity was difficult to tell. Her Auror training had indicated to her that an Auror must always be aware of one's surroundings while her own natural curiosity of places and people had made watching for little things an absolute joy. That was why

For someone who was an Auror and made a living out of sneaking off after others, it was surprising how easily the young Hogwarts student startled her. Raina blinked at the young student who had managed to squeeze his way into a barely free seat next to her own. Well, this was surprising. It wasn't everyday that one found someone such enthusiasm upon hearing a strange accent in the local pub. Quickly recovering from her shock, small pleasant smile curved her lips. “Hello!” she replied in kind as she shook his outstretched hand.

“Oh really? Your mother? Where is she from?” she asked curiously. From what she had seen so far of Great Britain, it seemed like there were very few Russians about. Although it seemed unlikely, but it was possible that his mother knew her mother, or perhaps through some other disjointed manner. After all, Russians did like sticking together for the most part. By the sound of his accent, it seemed that her newly-acquired acquaintance was a local of the area. Perhaps not of the immediate Hogsmeade region, but certainly in the Great Britain region.

Little known fact about Raina was that she had been in fact searching for her missing mother for the past few years. Unfortunately, she had been experiencing little success mostly due to her own lack of perseverance to the cause. Although she would refuse to admit to it, Raina had been avoiding digging seriously to search for her mother. Maybe her grandparents had given her old information. Maybe her mother had long since moved on from Great Britain onto bigger and better things. Who knew? Perhaps it was that she was so afraid of failure that she neglected to pursue the search as ardently as she had wanted to at the beginning.

[DANILO VIKTOR FLYNN]

This woman was a curious sort. Though he was sure they hadn't encountered each other before, there was something distinctly familiar about her. The way she observed the pub with those bright blue eyes. Though it was something that could easily be let go, Dani had struck up a conversation with a stranger over an accent. It just wasn't in his nature. Naturally then, he had kept that thought in the back of his mind as he heard Raina's question. ”She was born in Moscow,” he explained with a smile. ”My mother moved to the UK about 20 years ago.” Now that he thought about it, his mother didn't talk about her life in Russia really, other than her time at Durmstrang. Too busy messing with his father, he supposed. Some days he worried his sheepish father would suffer a heart attack from his mother's (and his) antics. Despite it all though, his father was in perfect health-- somehow.

”I'm Danilo Flynn, by the way,” he introduced himself as he finally pulled his hand away. ”People usually call me Dani. You are?” He spent this time getting a bit of his water, glancing around the pub momentarily. He wasn't expecting anything different than what he had heard when he first walked in. It had been long enough for the shock of the Hufflepuff team winning the first task, and though speculation on the second task and recent events were running rampant, it wasn't anything Dani hadn't heard before. It was mostly just to look at, so it wasn't too awkward just focusing on this woman's face and presence.

Hm, speaking of the woman, though she had an accent, she seemed to be fairly familiar with the environment. Maybe the gryffindor had come across her before. ”I'm sorry, this might seem odd to ask, but have we met before?”

[RAINA VALERIYA SOLOKYOV]

She wasn't exactly certain of what it was that she had hoped to gain by asking, but it was always an interesting fact to tuck away for fun. Or maybe for when she truly began looking for her mother in earnest. Even Raina was able to admit that her attempts at finding her mother for the past few years have been minimal at best, but she had been so busy with training and acclimating herself to the new country...

“Oh, what a coincidence! I'm from Moscow”, she exclaimed happily with a bright smile. Although to be fair, Moscow was one of the most populated cities in Russia. Statistically speaking, a large percentage of the Russians residing in the British Isles would be Moscovites. So it really only made sense that such a similarity would exist. Raina spared a vague thought that the mother of this young man's was also her own. But she quickly brushed it aside as being plainly ridiculous. It was just too coincidental for something like that to happen. There would have been hundreds of Russians who immigrated over to Britain in that general time period.

“Raina Solokyov. Pleased to make your acquaintance,” she replied with a bright smile. Although Raina was almost certain that she had never met this fellow before in her life, he seemed familiar to her in a way that she could not rightly describe. Slightly perturbed by this strange gut feeling of hers, Raina decided to push it away for the time being. After all, she had made many acquaintances throughout her years of travel and her time here in Britain.

“I should hope not. In my line of work, the only people I see on a regular basis are criminals and Ministry officials.” The Russian peered at the young man before her, making a show of examining him carefully. “And you're far too young to be a Ministry official.” The edge of her lips gave way to a small smile that indicated that she was simply joking around. “So I take it you're a student?”

[DANILO VIKTOR FLYNN]

Ah, so the woman was from Moscow herself. This didn't really come as much of a surprise for the student. The city was one of the largest in Russia, and though he didn't really know the frequency of Russians immigrating to the UK, he hadn't thought much on the idea that the two came from the same place. If anything, he looked forward to the prospect of learning more about his heritage. His mother wasn't too talkative on the matter, mostly just brushing it off as boring matters. The sixth year wasn't one to waste opportunities, and really, he was terribly curious about his Russian roots. He heard so much on his Irish portion, but he never even met his Russian grandparents. It just didn't seem all that fair.

”If its not too personal, I'm curious,” Dani began carefully with friendly smile, ”What's Moscow like? My mother is not too keen in giving me much details.” The accent the woman had at least implied her migration to England was fairly recent. He wouldn't mind just a little idea of the place, enough so to know that it was worth a visit once he had graduated from Hogwarts. It was a matter of perspective, he supposed. Despite his parents' apparent knowledge of the Europe region, he had never really traveled beyond the United Kingdom. He wouldn't mind broadening his horizons before moving onto the next step of his life.

The gryffindor couldn't help laughing at the sheer coincidence. So Raina's part of the ministry, and likely an auror as well. Hell, they might even work together in a couple of years. It gave him another reason to get to know the woman. After all, a reference would probably help matters in getting in the auror program. ”I am a student,” Dani grinned cheesily, ”I've only got about another year. Then I'm hoping to apply for the auror program myself. World could use more people trying to take down the criminals.” He would only privately admit that it gave him a chance to work for his childhood hero as well. Honestly though, it probably wouldn't come as a surprise to any auror at this point, he bet.

[RAINA VALERIYA SOLOKYOV]

Hearing the young man ask about her hometown, Raina couldn't help but smile brightly, all too eager to answer. If there was something she liked to talk about, it was her hometown. And she was even openly given an opportunity to gush about it too. How could she pass it up?

“No, I don't mind at all. Moscow is beautiful. I know everybody says that about their hometown, but I'm serious about Moscow, especially right after it snows.” Raina glanced wistfully through the frosty windows. Although snowfall had yet to arrive, simply talking about the snows in Moscow made her miss it. It had been years since she had last smelled the fresh snow falling, stood outside with her tongue to catch the snow. She had done similar things in the various places she had traveled to, but it was not the same. There was something truly unique about Moscow. “I don't know if you have an eye for the architecture, it's simply gorgeous. There's so much history there. It's... mysterious.” Raina sighed, feeling a wave of nostalgia as she spoke. It made her want to go back to Moscow and pop in for a bit of a visit. But knowing her dad, he might not appreciate it that much without at least some amount of warning.

“Everyone should go to Moscow at some point in their lives,” she stated simply with a twinkle in her eyes. Raina wasn't sure why this young man's mother had been so reluctant to divulge information about the city. Any citizen of Moscow had some preternatural pride for it, or as far as she knew. Or at least, Raina had yet to find any citizen to prove this otherwise. Perhaps his mother would be the first.

“That's brilliant!” she exclaimed happily. It wasn't every day that one met a stranger whose parentage originated from Moscow and this same stranger had intentions of becoming an Auror. What a strange and fantastic day. “You're right, we do need more people.” There had been so many nights where Raina had attempted to at least give a cursory look-through on all the cases assigned to her. She had yet to resign herself to the fact that perhaps their case load was simply too heavy. At his general comment on the world's need, Raina nodded absentmindedly. Having gone to a rather Dark Arts heavy school, Raina had seen first hand what that magic could do. “I look forward to seeing you there,” she said with a bright smile.

[DANILO VIKTOR FLYNN]

It was like going home hearing about his heritage. Sure, it was probably a bit of romanticization of his part, but for years, he had only his wild imagining and the odd family photo littered at his home to paint a picture for him of Moscow. Now, at least, he had the snow to add to his imaginings, though it was something he had already been familiar with. Dani made sure though that the image was more beautiful with the freshly laid snow in its city streets. He had caught a few glimpses of the buildings from the photos, but not enough for a concrete mental image. The gryffindor could almost mourn this lack of detail, but he knew that he would simply fill it in once he finally traveled to his mother's birthplace.

That's what he intended to do, at least. Dani wasn't sure when he would have the money together to stay at Moscow for a while. If he had his way, it would be immediately after he graduated, and maybe with a girl or a boy at his arm. Of course, actually getting this money together would come first. ”I'm hoping to visit there,” Dani began with a grin, almost wistful, ”Go there for a little while before I sign up for the auror program. I'll have to go when there's snow.” He sipped on some of the water in front of him, humming slightly. ”Mysterious was about the only thing I could get out of my mom about that place, other than some photos.”

Now that he thought about it, he hadn't the slightest idea about what the other half of his family really were like. It felt kind of weird. However, those thoughts quickly vanished as he listened to Raina. That was something Dani could get excited about. ”I'm glad to hear it!” he announced proudly, beaming at the idea. ”We have more allies than we think sometimes, but you always have to be careful, huh?” He couldn't help feeling a bit energetic with the turn of conversation, enjoying the prospects of joining her in the auror program. ”But really, what's it like? Have...” the brunette paused for a moment before asking his question, ”Have you met Mr. Potter?”

[RAINA VALERIYA SOLOKYOV]

If Raina had been keeping track, the Auror would have realized that there was an astounding number of similarities between presumably two strangers. But instead, the woman was more amused by the fact that there was a Russian, or at least a Brit with Russian heritage, to converse with, even if he didn't originate from the country. The boy stranger had enough interest in the matter to make it worth her while and Raina always did like convincing others that Moscow was fantastic, not that this boy needed much encouragement.

Raina frowned slightly when hearing that Dani's mom was so closed-lipped about her hometown. Given how much she loves her hometown, Raina had very little to complain about her hometown except for the usual little things that mattered very little in the grand scheme of things. However, nostalgia and a slight case of homesickness might account for her inability to recall the bad things in Moscow. In her opinion, Moscow was one of the best places ever; however she may be biased. Perhaps, the woman had some truly bad memories that clouded her own judgment. Deciding that she couldn't figure out why this woman was so opposed to Moscow with so little information, Raina decided to skip over the minor detail. “Well, I definitely recommend traveling to Moscow,” she said, nodding with a bright smile to show just how much she advocated that idea. “Actually, I did something similar before I signed up for the Auror program. After I finished school, I traveled around Europe for about two years and it was fantastic.”

Despite having only met this young man today, Raina felt a very real connection with him. It was as if she had met him before although she was sure she had not. It was quite bizarre, yet in a wholly pleasant way. After all, it wasn't every day that one managed to meet someone who was so easy to converse with.

“That's true,” she said as she thought of all the paperwork that was sitting on her desk. If there was one thing that she hated about being an Auror was the paperwork. She had absolutely no patience for the work, yet she was wholly aware of the fact that it was very necessary. Now if only she had more 'allies' to do her paperwork for her then all would be right in the world for her.

His slight paused caused her to tilt her head slightly, wondering what could have this enthusiastic boy take pause. When he finally asked his question, Raina laughed slightly yet not entirely surprised that a student would be curious about the infamous Harry Potter. “I haven't had the pleasure of working with him directly. But I have seen him around the office. Does that count?”

[/justify]