Familiar Faces [THD - Varvara]

Valda was, oddly enough, enjoying her time visiting Belushya Guba. Usually, it was too crowded for her liking so she stayed back at the school on weekends. Today, she had important business to attend to so she had no other choice but to come. She didn't think she'd enjoy her trip as much as she was. There were so many displays outside for her to look at, even some new orange food samples where she never knew what she'd end up with.

As she was passing past a stand with wizarding magazines and white newspapers, she recognized a face plastered on the front of each tabloid resting on the shelf. The witch on the cover was an old teacher, @Varvara Zakharova , who left Durmstrang last year because the merge made it so her class was no longer offered. Valda had enjoyed the lessons of melioration, hoping she'd be able to use what she learned to diagnose her mother's illness and help her get better after graduation. Upon reading something about her ex-healing teacher causing a big explosion in a public area with the use of potions, Valda continued on her way. How strange it was to see Varvara Zakharova in the paper. When she turned around though, she then noticed the older witch exiting from the nearby apothecary shop. Was she really in town? How had she not gotten in serious trouble for the explosion? Since when did she even have a huge fettish with potions? Valda had only known her to dabble here in there in the potions department.

Upon seeing the former teacher, Valda rushed to her side, hoping to get a discussion about melioration out of her that she could use in the future for her knowledge. "Varvara Zakharova," the red haired student called out to the old professor as she caught up to her. "Valda, Valda Pavlycheva. I was in your class two years back before you left."

She had needed to go to Belushya Guba for a while now, needing that one ingredient that seemingly was only available at this one tiny apothecary in the town. It seemed a bit silly, especially considering that her mother owned her own apothecary and didn’t carry it, but that was a matter for a different day. Varavara Stepanovna had put the trip off for far too long, and now it was too cold in the northern town for her liking. Stepping out of the shop, she pulled her wool coat tighter around her thin frame, untucking those strands of blonde hair that had fallen underneath her collar.

Passing a newstand, she was a bit taken aback to be greeted with her own face looking back at her. It was unmistakeable, the high cheekbones, the expertly applied makeup, the perfectly coiffed hair. Certainly her. Shifting her purchases to one hand, she snatched up a copy and flipped through the pages, coming upon a story that she had been thus far unaware of happening. An explosion? Her? Honestly. Her lab was so well protected that even if she had been careless enough to cause something to explode, this rubbish magazine certainly wouldn’t be hearing about it.

She was close to her Platinum Cauldron in the guild, however, and she was fairly certain that a certain Alchemy professor was also close to Platinum and just so happened to share a patronymic with the author of this article. She wasn’t sure the extent of the woman’s family ties, but she paid for the magazine and tucked it away into her bag, only to turn on her heel at the sound of her name.

“Valda Grigoryevna,” she replied cooly, straightening her posture slightly, “Of course I remember you.” She was slightly affronted that she didn’t think her intelligent enough to remember her small pool of students from just over a year ago, but she had no place to be reprimanding her now. Sure, she might not have been the best student, or even in the top fifty percent of Varya’s favorites, but she remembered those who actually showed an interest in her subject. “I hope you’re well.”

It was only after she let the blonde woman's name pass her lips that she recognized she had called her by the right name and felt ashamed.

"Yes, Varvara Stepanovna," she correcter herself this time. "I hope you're well too. Things haven't been the same since you left. I really enjoyed your class ans was hoping you'd return this year. I've been reading a lot of the books you referenced in your lectures to help me learn though." The ex-teacher had been an idol to Valda. She loved how she had taught and helped them learn. The students had been allowed to learn independently with only Varvara Stepanovna intervening when things took a serious, maybe even lethal, turn.

Stuck in her awe, Valda was unaware of the box they were quickly approaching and she had manged to stumble right over a box of fireworks. Valda's face went as red as her hair when she made such a fool of herself. Quickly, she gathered the fireworks she had seen and returned them back to their box, upright near the doorway. What she was unaware of was that there were a couple of fireworks that managed to bound and skid right into a nearby open door. Valda quickly composed herself and continued walking with the old teacher. Her face was still red as she cleared her throat to refocus her thoughts. "I'm sorry. I'm okay though." If only Varvara had returned, she wouldn't have had to make such a show in front of her. "Will you be returning next year?"

Varya didn’t look phased by the girl’s words, but she knew the truth behind them. Of course things had been different since she had left. She had brought her talents with her when she had been asked to leave and it hadn’t come as a shock when the whole school had fallen apart without her. Still, she smiled at the compliment, happy that Valda was continuing to use her lectures instead of the lectures of whatever incompetent person had taken her place. Valda didn’t need to know that she hadn’t even been given the opportunity to decline Durmstrang’s offer to return as they had never made one.

She nearly reached out to steady the girl as she tripped, but she recovered herself before the woman needed to properly intervene. She righted herself as Varya arched a thin eyebrow at her, curious if it was too early or if this particular student matched the criteria for a weekend binger. But it seemed, she was just clumsy, not exhibiting any other signs of being drunk. “It’s quite alright, if you’re alright.”

She stopped walking, turning to look down at her former student. “I doubt that very much, unfortunately. I’m working in London now, the head healer of a floor at the hospital, so I’m afraid I’m needed elsewhere.” She considered for a moment, trying to decide if it would be worth it to invite her to write to her. It really was the least she could do, considering the lack of proper instruction she was surely receiving now. “You can write, we can discuss things more, if you’d like,” she offered. “What, specifically, are you interested in?”

At the offer for Valda to write to Varvara, she felt her heart skip a beat. Of course she'd write to her! With her thoughts now turned to writing her idol, she had quickly forgotten about her embarrassing tumble. She could get a one-on-one "experience" and learn what skills and magic to use to heal! It was a shame that Varyara Stepanova wouldn't be returning to Durmstrang, but by having this opportunity, she didn't care anymore. She was thrilled to be getting advice from such a skilled witch. Even if the witch was going to be surrounded by water in the new country she was transferring to, Valda would be sure to write her with any questions or observations she had acquired.

"I've been quite fascinated in diagnosing a problem and the best way to heal it. Especially with how to diagnose and know the difference between muggle and wizarding illnesses. I'm trying my best through my studies, but I don't know if I'm missing some bits or if I'm not understanding it because of how much I feel if I had a way to practice the magic over winter and summer break when I returned home, I'd get more experience and could then use it when it's needed, but with the wizarding rules set in place, I have to wait. I can't wait two more years to graduate to practice! Studying is all I got. Now that I can write to you too, I'll be able to ask any questions I have about it and truly learn." This opportunity she had just gained was definitely a blessing in disguise, that was if she got the opportunity to use her growing knowledge to help her mother once school was finished for her.

Varya listened with interest, almost surprised with what Valda was saying. It was all rather interesting, though she was more interested in why she was so worried about muggle diseases.  That really wasn’t something she wanted to get into here, however, not in Belusya Guba and not when she was in somewhat of a hurry to get back to England before the sun came up. “Yes, please do write.” She was busy, but she could find time, she supposed. “Have you considered entering the guild?” If Valda was serious about this at all, that really ought to be something she considered. “It is the only way to properly apprentice in potions, and it sounds like something you should be doing.”

She had been at a guild meeting some days ago and was fairly certain she still had some sort of informational bulletin in her bag and she shifted her purchases once again to look for it when she heard a loud explosion from just inside the door they were standing next to. Varya ducked her head in to see what all the commotion was, only to be greeted by the sight of multicolored lights, spinning pinwheels, and small cherry bombs exploding. It was then that she remembered the toppled fireworks and she groaned, pulling Valda by the upper arm away from her mess. “You don’t want to be involved in this. Anna Pavlovna won’t take kindly to what you’ve just done,” she said with a small smile, talking about the dumpy witch that worked the counter there.