<div class="floatleft">(https://i.imgur.com/QNuBtVf.png)</div><div class="floatright">(https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/harrypotter/images/f/f3/DurmstrangCrest.png/revision/latest?cb=20160112161151)</div><table class="bbc_table"><tbody><tr><td><strong>NAME:</strong>     </td><td>Mathilda Wolff (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=299655.msg14655387#msg14655387)</td></tr><tr><td><strong>OCCUPATION:</strong>    </td><td>Deputy Headmistress of Durmstrang | Dark Arts Instructor</td></tr><tr><td><strong>BLOOD STATUS:</strong>    </td><td>No-Maj Born (specifically stateside)</td></tr><tr><td><strong>WAND:</strong>    </td><td>11 ¾" | Acacia | Dragon Heartstring | Unyielding (https://i.imgur.com/6U00Zja.jpg)</td></tr><tr><td><strong>WEARING:</strong>    </td><td>Summer Uniform (https://i.imgur.com/bDzECgX.png) | Gold Aiguillettes (https://i.imgur.com/uZvRGkC.png) | Glowing Blue Nails (https://imgur.com/DyyUT0k) | Edelweiss Ring (https://i.imgur.com/Z6RufO6.png)</td></tr><tr><td><strong>DATE | TIME:</strong>    </td><td>Monday, September 2nd | Supper Time</td></tr><tr><td><strong>LOCATION:</strong>    </td><td>Durmstrang Dining Hall</td></tr><tr><td><strong>CONTENT:</strong>    </td><td>Giving her 2 Kopeks</td></tr><tr><td><strong>MOOD MUSIC:</strong>    </td><td>Shostakovich Symphony No. 1, Movement II (https://youtu.be/PaHoTomdl8I?t=527)</td></tr><tr><td><strong>TAGGING:</strong>    </td><td>Professor Vulchanova | Headmaster Maximovich | Open</td></tr><tr><td><strong>MENTIONING:</strong>     </td><td>Sebastian Ryan</td></tr></tbody></table><br/><hr/><br/>At peace in silence, Mathilda ate her meal as she did everything else -- with meticulous precision. She drew her knife cleanly through the meat on her plate without a single snag, sliced it into uniformly sized bites, and chose her portions systematically so that her meal did not lack necessary nutrients.<br/><br/>Yes, the Deputy Headmistress was a strict and frugal woman even with herself, and her meals were no exception.<br/><br/>Pausing to take a drink of glacial water from a pewter goblet, Mathilda dabbed once at the corner of her mouth. She appraised the congregation of witches and wizards before her with her characteristic stoicism. Like any quality educator, in her two years as instructor of Defense Against the Dark Arks, she kept extensive notes to monitor the students’ progress. In year’s past, Durmstrang had been irrelevant, but with the Triwizard Tournament at hand, they could display the fruits of Mathilda’s labor on a global stage.<br/><br/>Professor Wolff might have been small, young, and American, but her meteoric rise hadn’t come without merit. She’d climbed the ranks quickly, as a foreigner<em>and </em>woman, and it was entirely a product of her dogged determination.<br/><br/>Nearly every one of Professor Wolff’s Defense Against the Dark Arts classes took place in the Institute’s stone arena, where she ran drills again and again until students were sweating, sore, and occasionally bloodied. Perhaps to the surprise of many, there was no task she demanded of the cadets that she did not demand of herself, so she too sweat and bled, never allowing herself a moment’s respite in her eternal quest for mastery.<br/><br/>To share this enthusiasm for improvement, Professor Wolff ended each class with prearranged duels set on a rotating schedule to ensure that each person had the chance to battle every classmate multiple times during the term.  Additionally, she hosted two hours of Dueling Practice every night after supper, where she flung curses as if she were trying to cause harm. There, she transformed from the stoic Defense Against the Dark Arts instructor into a capable wielder of the Dark Arts. Though she took no joy in causing misery, her pupils would learn<em>exactly</em>what to expect from themselves in times of need.<br/><br/>However, as martial and physical as her class was, the cultured and demanding Professor Wolff never ignored intellectual pursuits.<br/><br/>Every Monday was spent in a traditional classroom, pouring over theories, incantations, and spell-sequences for every type of scenario, and at the beginning of each term classes were provided a syllabus with the topics and due dates for 6 essays, which in total counted for 25% of their overall marks.<br/><br/>It was no shock to her that Defense Against the Dark Arts was one of the most dreaded classes, and one where tempers rose the most. Rather than argue with anyone who displayed obstinance, Professor Wolff would dismiss disturbances to run laps, more drills, or detention. She did not care about the egos of her pupils, she cared about growth, and now that she was Deputy Headmistress Wolff, she only cared about what what steps came next.<br/><br/>Coming back to the present moment after a brief departure, Mathilda felt a pair of eyes boring into her from a distance. Sebastian Ryan -- one of her more brilliant but headstrong students -- was staring at her with a wolfish hunger that caused her dark brow to lower threateningly over her honey-brown eyes. She let the sharpened prongs of her fork sink into meat and boiled carrot while returning the look for a single second, and then blinking like a bored cat and looking away.<br/><br/>Just then, Mathilda heard a deep, rasping baritone come from her left, one thick with a Russian accent as they used English as the common language between them.<br/><br/><em>“A momentous time indeed.  I would heed your thoughts, both of yours, on the matter.”</em><br/><br/>Finishing her bite of food at the same leisurely pace she always ate with, Mathilda set her fork down and then cleared her palette with a sip of water. When she spoke, she matched his volume so that the conversation remained between she, Evdokiya and Maximovich. She draped her napkin back over her lap before she spoke.<br/><br/><strong>“It’s an excellent opportunity. The institute’s reputation is unfoundedly dark, and overall we suffer from poor opinion globally.”</strong>It was clear that the Deputy Headmistress did not mince words but did not fling them like darts either.<strong>“With the reinstatement of the Triwizard Tournament, we have an opportunity to show the world who we are.”</strong>Her eyes drew over the men and women before them once again, feeling the smallest surge of pride well in her chest.<strong>“We will demonstrate the enviable product of a unified Durmstrang.”</strong><br/><br/>Her eyes turned back to her superior.<br/><br/><strong>“However, I would be remiss if I did not express some hesitation. How much organization has gone into this year’s tournament, and more importantly, why is the Ministry reinstating it now? The previous Triwizard Tournament was a tragedy for the Diggory family, one suffered due to negligence. Are we certain that Hogwarts is secure?”</strong><br/>