How I Met My Friend

Transfiguration Classroom, Durmstrang, (Jan 12 th )...

Dirty, frustrated, and tired, Harry made his way into his last class of the day.

His first day at Durmstrang had been as awful as it could possibly get. In Dark Arts, Harry had attempted to introduce himself, but he could tell a few students didn't like him from the moment he entered the classroom. While there were a lot more students who seemed initially accepting of him, his poor German made communicating difficult, and Professor Grausam did his best to ensure that none of the other first years liked him by the end of the class.

Grausam seemed to hold Hogwarts' Defense Against the Dark Arts class in contempt for some reason, and he ordered Harry to duel several students to prove he could keep up with the material. Harry had fought and beaten a quarter of the class before Grausam angrily told him to sit down and to stop showing off. For the rest of the class, Harry had to deal with the angry glares and bitter comments, only half of which he understood, from all the students he had beaten.

Herbology was the first class that Harry felt could be considered superior to Hogwarts. Since very few magical plants were able to grow in the arctic, the greenhouses at Durmstrang were enchanted to keep out the cold and the snow while protecting the artificial environment inside. There were dozens of these greenhouses with varied environments, and they allowed the students to experiment on many different exotic plants, even though the school's locations should have made that impossible.

While he was impressed by the system, Harry had struggled to understand what was happening in the class. Eventually, Harry realized that his teacher wanted him to transplant some Fanged Geraniums. Harry was bitten several times by the plant before, in his frustration, he blew a hole in the ground with a blasting curse and levitated the disgusting plant into it. Professor Guiles had not been pleased at Harry's unorthodox tactics in dealing with the ferocious plant, but since Harry hadn't technically done anything wrong, he wasn't punished. He was, however, ranted at, for several minutes after class by Professor Guiles. The only thing Harry took from the seemingly endless stream of angry German was that such methods were never accepted in Professor Guiles' greenhouse.

After his debacle in Herbology, Harry had eaten a brief lunch before heading off to his other first year class, Spell Creation. While initially excited at the idea of making his own spells, the moment Harry entered the classroom, Professor Cherny had given him an exam and told him to spend the class answering the questions while he lectured to everyone else. By the time the class ended, Harry was depressingly certain that he had answered only four of the twenty-two questions correctly.

The entire first semester in Spell Creation was spent discussing how specific wand movements affect charms, transfiguration, and curses. With a very limited foundation to build upon, Harry didn't have a clue how to go about designing his own spells or altering existing ones. Professor Cherny seemed to have no interest in helping to catch him up, and Harry knew he'd need to work very hard if he wanted to pass the class.

Hoping to put an end to a very bad first day, Harry entered his Transfiguration classroom and took a seat near the back. Several students filtered in, and more than a few were surprised to see a first year sitting in their class. Several glared at him and even more asked him if he was lost. Fortunately, Professor Rosemburg entered from his office and the class settled down.

"As you all can see, Harry Potter will be joining us– " Rosemburg commented.

Before the professor could continue, the door opened and a fairly well-built black-haired boy entered the room, looking disheveled and embarrassed.

"Krum!" Rosemburg snapped angrily. "Why are you late to my class on the first day?"

"I'm sorry Professor, I was flying and I..."

"Fool! Do you really think I'll let you retake this class again? Take a seat, and if you are late again I will … with … and I hope they will chew through your hands," Rosemburg snarled as most of the class hid chuckles under their breaths.

"It will not happen again," Krum said as he turned to take a seat. Harry momentarily locked eyes with the boy and Krum seemed surprised to see someone new in the class. Krum weaved his way through the desks, and took a seat next to Harry.

"Now that Mr. Krum has graced us with his presence," said Rosemburg sarcastically, "we will begin. Several of you wrote to me over the holidays about your … and I have to say that I am not … with many of them. You are all … and incapable of thought. Potter!" he said suddenly, causing Harry to jerk his head up. "Do you have any … for your … perhaps something from Hogwarts that can be shared?"

Harry had no idea what Professor Rosemburg was talking about. "Sir, my German is still not well. I have language charm on, but there is much I know not," he replied hesitantly.

"Idiot boy," Rosemburg barked. "You transferred to Durmstrang without knowing German? Did you think we would all speak English just for you, Potter?"

"No, sir, I not think that," Harry said quickly as most of the class laughed at his poor grammar and pronunciation.

"You are useless, Potter," Rosemburg said tiredly, "How can you learn if you don't even know what I am saying?"

"I try my best, sir," Harry said, now slightly annoyed at being called useless. "Language Charm not working well for me, I practice with it for long time."

"To stupid for the language charm to work properly for you, Potter?" the boy in front of him asked quietly.

Harry wanted to snap that the language charm had nothing to do with intelligence; Headmaster Dumbledore had insured him of that! It was just that certain people reacted differently to it, or had a talent with languages. No one knew why, it just happened that way.

"If you … on being in my classroom," Rosemburg said, drawing Harry's attention back to the professor, "you will … and be silent, Potter, understood?"

Harry didn't understand, but he nodded his agreement anyway as Rosemburg began to lecture. Harry tried to keep up with what was being said but it was hard.

"You do not understand?" Krum asked quietly.

Harry turned to face the older boy. "No," he whispered, "I need more time with the language charm. I will learn."

"Do you have class after this?" Krum asked, speaking slowly so Harry could understand.

"No."

"Then after class I will help you. The more time you spend speaking and hearing German, the easier it will get."

"German isn't your first language?"

Krum shook his head. "I am from Bulgaria, but we need … attention, or else Professor Rosemburg will be angry with us."

The rest of the class was a struggle for Harry. By the time it was over, Harry understood that Professor Rosemburg was saying something about animate-to-animate Transfiguration, but a majority of the lecture was lost to him. Harry was very happy that Durmstrang didn't make him write many essays or take a lot of quizzes as there was no way he would have been able to answer anything over the lecture he just sat through.

When Professor Rosemburg announced the end of the class and instructed the students to read certain pages in their books before the next lecture, Krum stood up and motioned for Harry to follow him.

Krum led Harry out of the classroom and down the hall until they entered a pair of double doors that led to the Durmstrang library. Harry's eyes widened at the impressive collection of books and manuscripts that Durmstrang had collected. There were countless shelves filled with books that seemed to stretch to the ceiling. The thought of all those books, but being unable to read them was beyond frustrating to Harry, and he mentally committed himself to learning the language as quickly as possible.

"This way," said Krum, leading Harry through the library and into the back corner where a single table sat. Krum waved his wand and Harry looked at him, curious to see what the spell did. "A privacy charm," was Krum's abrupt response.

"Good idea. We wouldn't want to get kicked out."

"No, that would be very bad," Krum said darkly. "The librarian is very strict."

Harry nodded his head in understanding. If Madam Pince at Hogwarts had access to corporal punishment, who knows what she would had done to the students who disturbed the peace of her library.

"So...," Krum said awkwardly.

"Yeah, so..." Harry replied. "Do you not get along with the other kids here?"

"What makes you say that?" Krum asked defensively.

"Well," Harry said, trying not to upset the one person who had been nice to him. "Where I am from, friends would not laugh at you for getting yelled at by a professor."

Krum appraised Harry for a moment before nodding. "I suppose you are right. No, I do not get along with many. Most students think I am stupid after I dropped two classes during my first year."

"Why?" Harry asked curiously. "It is better to learn lots, no?"

"Yes, but I know what I want to do, and I did not need those classes."

"Oh?" Harry asked, somewhat intrigued. "What do you want to do?"

"I have always wanted to become a great Quidditch player," Krum said wistfully.

"You sound like my brother." Harry laughed. "I think it's his dream to become a Quidditch star as well."

Krum scowled. "I do not dream about being great, I will be great. I run through the snow everyday to build strength, I practice every day to get better, and I study strategy every night to understand the game. I will become the greatest Quidditch player in the world."

Harry couldn't help but be impressed by Krum's determination. Nathan might have talked about being a great Quidditch player someday, but he didn't spend every waking moment pushing himself to become a great player like Krum was. Although, Harry mused, that was probably a good thing. Harry was sure his mother would kill Nathan if he spent every waking moment thinking about Quidditch.

"What position do you play?"

A slight smile crossed Krum's face. "Seeker. I have not lost a single match at Durmstrang."

"My brother plays seeker at Hogwarts, but he's not as dedicated as you. It is a lot of hard work to practice that much, no?"

"Yes," Krum said seriously. "I dropped Herbology and History of Magic after my first year to spend more time practicing. I was very worried I would fail Charms and Transfiguration last year, and I was fortunate that the professors decided to allow me to retake the classes. I must graduate from Durmstrang. Every Krum for six centuries has managed it. I cannot break my family's tradition, but I will not give up what I love. Since I dropped two classes in my first year, and I am retaking Charms and Transfiguration, people believe me to be stupid. They call me 'broomloon' and think I am some dumb Quidditch player. I will prove them all wrong someday."

Harry grinned; he knew exactly what Krum was talking about.

Seeing Harry's grin, Viktor snapped, "You think it is funny what they call me? You think my goal is stupid?"

Harry's smile vanished. "No, I do not think it is at all that. I--I can... relate," he said, quickly trying to find the right words in German. "At Hogwarts, I spend a lot of time studying. I want to be a great wizard. The other kids, they all mock me for doing well. I understand you wanting something and doing what you must to get it. I leave Hogwarts because Durmstrang let me move up in years and gives me access to more knowledge."

Krum no longer looked angry; instead, he had a very thoughtful look on his face. "We are much alike, then, Harry Potter. So, what is your favorite class?"

Slowly, a smile crept onto Harry's face as he told Krum what he liked the most about magic.