Dimitri sighed to himself as he wandered in the Leaky Cauldron. The remedies that Tess had told him to try had indeed worked wonders. He had a kooky looking scar that glowed a bit even under the darkest shirts he wore. Instead of his traditional t-shirt, he also had a black duster on. Easier to hide odd glowing scars underneath black leather and all that. He wasn't sure why he came to England, but he had a feeling it had something to do with the woman he had met over in Germany.

He supposed he turned the charm on a little too much when he was with her. He couldn't help it sometimes; it was like a defense mechanism. Those who sucked up his charm and tossed back gallons of their own weren't for him. His mother was always pressuring him to find a nice girl. If not get married, at least get a girlfriend. Dimitrius had been on his own from a young age. It was him and his sister, all the way through no matter what.

Ordering a butterbeer, he took a table in the back and sighed to himself. He was finally in just about no pain at all. He'd have to find Miss Black and thank her, but for the moment, he was parched. He downed at least half of the mug he had received before he turned his attention to the door while his mind wandered.

Tess was having a long day; she had done a fourteen hour shift, and now she was just hungry. She refused to cook this night, too lazy, and she figured it was a good excuse to go to the Leaky Cauldron and eat.

Pushing the door open, she walked in and waved at the waitress, she had been here so many times that she was already recognized. It was so sad, she thought shaking her head and smiling, oh well, it kept her fed so she didn't care.She flushed as they moved her towards her favorite table and she thanked them quietly before they gave her the menu, knowing that she was there to eat.

Dimtrius lifted his butterbeer up to his lips, freezing when he saw the very woman he had come to Britain for enter the room. It wasn't like he was stalking her or anything; he actually didn't think she'd show up! Didn't she have some place to go, like home? A boyfriend, a husband? Anything? Drinking the rest of his butterbeer, he gestured for another one. In bottle form this time. He wasn't a fan of mugs.

He paid the man and grabbed the bottle of butterbeer, taking light steps to not give himself away. The Leaky Cauldron wasn't so quiet, but it wasn't loud either. It was quite peaceful, in his opinion, and he'd rather keep it that way. Quirking his lips to the side, he leaned down and spoke softly in Tess' ear.

"Wie geht es dir, kleine Schönheit?" How are you, little beauty?

Tess was reading calmly trying to figure out exactly what she wanted. Satisfied with what she wanted she raised her hand to order it and once they knew it was the usual. Smiling satisfied she was distracted by her surroundings that when she felt someone beside her, she tensed up, but she was wide-eyed as soon as she heard him speaking.

Turning to face him, she let out a small shy smile, surprised to see him here. Her cheeks flushed at his endearment and she shook her head amused.

"Surprised to see you here" she replied. "Please sit"

Dimitri smiled, inwardly sighing at the fact that Tess hadn't flipped out. He had somewhat hoped that she would jump, but seeing the red crawl across her cheeks, he figured that it was worth it. Sitting across from her, he set his bottle down and grinned easily. He leaned back in his chair, still elated at the fact that he felt little to no pain in his shoulder.

"I probably shouldn't be speaking German," he murmured, shrugging slightly. "Especially here. But I figured you would easily recognize me if I did. Not that you wouldn't recognize this handsome face, but was geschehen ist, ist getan." What's done is done.

Tess laughed softly at his comment and shook her head. He was so confident in himself, she couldn't help but find him entertaining. Yes he was handsome, and the way he the way he carried himself was what made her enjoy his company, though sometimes she felt like a mouse.

"Perhaps not, you're lucky I didn't pass out you know. I am terrible at surprises" she commented with a small smile.

It was nice to have company, even if it was vain company.

"Yes I couldn't forget that face" she teased.

Dimitri smiled, feeling more refreshed than he had in months. And it was all because of the woman in front of him. True, he would have eventually figured out some of the remedies that helped his ailments, but he would have been in pain for the longest time. Reaching out, he took her hand with his.

"I was hoping I would run into you," he said, grinning at her. "I wanted to thank you for your help. I haven't always seen eye to eye with healers, but you Miss Black. Just, thank you." He shrugged the black duster off his right shoulder, allowing her to see the semi-glow of his scar under his shirt. "It's better than it has been in weeks."

He let go of her hand to fix his duster over his shoulder again before sighing and taking a drink of his butterbeer. "The pain is minimal, if any, and I'm finally sleeping again. You want anything from me, you name it, and I'll get it. Ich verdanke ihnen mein leben." I owe you my life.

Tess was surprised that he even had remembered her, let alone him hoping for find her. She let out a shy smile and looked down as he told her. When he grabbed her hands, she lifted her head and squeezed his hand back lightly, her cheeks flushing at his thanks. He was very kind and she shook her head not needing him to say all those things.

"I'm glad you feel better" she said relieved.

She could admit to herself that she was taking a chance when she gave him those alternatives, there was no guarantee of a solution. She noticed that while the scar was still there, his movements were more fluid, and she was relieved that he could be better, after all she now knew more about scars of those kinds than she needed. As her drinks came, she grabbed her mug and drank her Butterbeer smiling.

"Thank you, but I'm just glad you're okay" she said glad he was better. "As I said before, no one deserves the pain."

His eyes darkened in blatant anger and his mouth tightened in a grim line. "I can think of one person who deserves the pain. And much, much more." He answered, his hands clenching tightly before he relaxed them and sighed. He stared over at his butterbeer for a few moments, not trusting himself to speak anymore. He was feeling more fit; he could even go after her if he felt like it.

He closed his eyes, wondering if he should get something stronger than the butterbeer but decided against it. If he wanted to get uproariously drunk, he'd do it in Germany, near his home. Certainly not in front of a healer, and not in front of a woman at that rate. He was much more gentlemanly than he let on most days.

"Du bist unschuldig bist du nicht, du kleine Schönheit?" He murmured, smiling gently at her. "You have a kind heart. That will take you far in the coming days, but don't be too trusting yes?" You are innocent are you not, little beauty?

Tess felt a shiver run down her spine as she heard his tone change. Obviously his resentment towards the person who had injured him still remained. She looked down and took a sip of her butterbeer hoping he'd calm down a bit. She understood the resentment, but maybe it was her soft demeanor that still felt how wrong it was.

Hearing him speak, she caught on a few words and looked down smiling slightly. She shrugged, she couldn't help it, she was a softy when it came to many things. Her best friend would usually tease her about being too good for her own good.

"I'm not too trusting" she commented defensively.

But even she couldn't believe the comment and sighed. In fact she was quite the opposite, after all she was currently talking to someone who might be her enemy because of his loyalties, but there she was, drinking butterbeer across from him.

"I am" she said laughing a bit. "but it hasn't harmed me so far"

"That's true," he finally answered with a smile, canting his head at her. "But you can never be too careful. After all, I found you in Germany didn't I? You could have met someone entirely awful in that store. Could've been taken for your expertise in healing. You could have been killed even. Be more careful meine kleine schönheit."

He looked around the room before sighing. "I received my wound from a spiteful woman," Dimitri said uneasily. "She threw a knife that would have hit my Highmistress if I hadn't pushed her out of the way. The woman was angry because I had taken the child she stole from a friend of mine. I returned the child, and I don't regret any of my decisions on it."

He placed a hand on his scar wound, closing one of his eyes to bear the tenderness that it presented. "Battle wound," he murmured. "Und es wird noch viel mehr sein." My little beauty; And there will be many more.

Tess' eyes softened and she bit her bottom lip as she heard what he was saying. He was right, she should have been more careful and in a way she felt all the more foolish as it came from him. He obviously knew better, and she felt a bit chastised by his comment.

"You're right" she commented. "It's just natural to be trusting when it comes to me I suppose. I'm sorry."

She didn't know why she was apologizing, but she felt stupid for being so open with people. And the way he was chastising her, felt like she was a child, especially with the endearment, which she was getting used to.

But as she heard his story, she was a bit wide-eyed at his heroic act. And while she was part of the Order, and despite the fact she knew that the Headmistress was one of the enemies of the Order, she couldn't help but be glad she wasn't killed in such a horrible way. And he managed to protect a child? She placed a hand on her chest and looked at him with clear admiration.

"You're a hero" she breathed out. "That's amazing."

Dimitrius grinned, leaning back in his seat and grabbing the bottle of butterbeer. "What are you apologizing for? My sister does the same thing, when she isn't mad at me of course. I figure it's just a reflex reaction to apologize for the things you do. In some ways, it's good to be trusting of people. Look where it got us."

He paused in his speaking to take a drink, his throat parched from all the talking. Especially when he was explaining about how he received his wound. It wasn't an easy topic to discuss, but she was a healer. Patient confidentiality and all that, right? At least, he sure hoped it was left under wraps - no pun intended.

"I'm not much of a hero," he admitted with a shrug. "Trust me. I just do what comes naturally to me. As the Deputy Highmaster, it is my job to ensure the school runs well with Rox in the Highmistress chair. I also protect her at all costs. Getting the child back, well, that was my main priority and I accomplished that. And then it was instinct to jump in front of the knife."

All his talking was probably making him seem more of a hero in front of Tess, which he wasn't. He was a wizard with a huge Alaskan Malamute puppy, who happened to have a good job and great friends. That was it, in his eyes at least.

Tess shook his head at his modesty; it seemed heroic in her eyes. Her father had told her that there were no good Germans, but then again he was an Auror dealing with the worst kind of men. But he had told her the best quality a person could have was loyalty, and Dimitri clearly had it. She couldn't help but admire it.

"It's still impressive, and you're so modest." she said shaking her head. "Your loyalty is admirable as well."

She wondered briefly if the woman was English, and she shook her head, she'd rather not want to ask. She smiled at him and wondered if Durmstrang was similar to her Hogwarts experience.

"Was the child alright?" she asked carefully. "I mean is he fine now?"

She had to ask, after all, she worked with children more than adults, and it was her soft spot.

"I'm loyal to my friends," he murmured, straightening his posture in his seat before shrugging. "My country and my friends, at least. Anybody I happen to meet I'll be loyal too as well, as long as they earn it. Still not a hero, trust me. Just what I do."

He wondered just why he was meeting with Tess again when they were in countries that were supposed to be at war. Though he figured that a healer was a healer, no matter what country they were from. And he didn't think he'd be able to take down Tess anyway. He had morals, and he refused to hurt any women who didn't hurt him first. Or at least try to, and even then, he didn't want to.

A small smile graced his face. "Yes, DJ. He's completely fine. I'll need to catch up with Anne to visit them again sometime. I miss the little guy. And I'm not surprised you're asking about him." Dimitri replied teasingly. "Is it natural for you to worry about children? I guess most sane people would, but still."

Tess nodded and felt something in her tighten uncomfortably. Being in the Order, she often times felt uncomfortable at their aggressive attacks. Last time she was in Germany was when she was convinced to attack Durmstrang because the Order had decided. It gave her a bit of guilt, considering that he was an educator and very loyal to it's Headmistress. But she really liked him, and he was very kind. She even trusted him that's how she just was.

But despite her guilt, she automatically let out a smile as he mentioned children, and that he himself was grinning. She loved, children, honestly they were what just softened her up all the more than she already was.

"Anne?" she asked curiously. "Is she English by any chance. I know that there are a lot of Anne's out there, but I had a patient by the name of Anne. It'd be a small world if it was."

She shrugged and wrinkled her nose at his question.

"I love children" she replied simply. "Who doesn't"

"Yes, she's English," Dimitrius said, finishing off his drink before smiling. "I met her when I was younger, and we've been friends through the whole lot. She went missing for a time, but I was so wrapped up with taking care of Luna and my own family stuff that until we bumped into each other again, I didn't realize."

He looked down at his hands, not surprised to see they were clenched into fists again. What he would have done to that man was far from merciful, and he would have enjoyed every second of it. He willed himself to calm down, and he relaxed his fists, not surprised to see blood in his palm. He wiped his hands on his dark jeans and ignore the small stings with ease.

"I can think of a couple of people who don't like children," Dimitri supplied, crossing his arms. "But then again, they are a waste of space. Either way, children are...I don't know. Besondere. Do you have children of your own?" Special.

Tess then knew that perhaps it was the same Anne. Her voice died on her lips as his fists began to clench and anger was evident. Seeing him wipe his hands she frowned and leaned forward to grab his hands. She placed her hands over one of them and she muttered a healing spell as her hands began to release some magic to stop the bleeding. It was natural for her to do this and she shook her head.

"It must have been terrible...I know Anne, Anne Greene" she said softly. "I'm sorry I caused you to remember that."

She felt a bit guilty, but she was impressed at how he easily transitioned into the subject of children. She bit her bottom lip and hid a grin at his comment about people disliking children, and she understood the word special.

"They aren't my kind of people, but I respect their choice. Children is not for everyone." At his next question she blushed and shook her head immediately. "Oh! Oh no" she said laughing. "I love children but maybe in a few years, and some sort of commitment might make that happen."

Dimitrius watched in amusement as Tess healed the wounds he had inflicted on his hands. Her healing wasn't really necessary as he would have just healed them later, but he was touched that she had indeed noticed and decided to act upon it. Pulling his hands back with a smile of thanks, he nodded to her.

"Danke. Und keine sorge. There are many times in which I thought about what happened to her and how I could have changed it all if I were only there. But, I had to be with my sister and family. I couldn't just hop, skip, and jump all over Britain all the time." He said, shaking his head. "Wünschte nur, ich hätte mehr tun können." Thank you. And do not worry.; Just wish I could have done more.

He moved to the topic of children easily, not wanting to dwell on the fact that he wasn't there for his friend when he needed to it. It was one of his many regrets, unfortunately, and he didn't like discussing it for prolonged times.

He winced to himself when he realized that was just the kind of thing his mother was pressuring him for. Grandchildren. Waving his hand to get another bottle of butterbeer, he smiled and paid the man when it was brought to him. Taking a long pull, he sighed to himself and tilted his head at Tess. "Someday huh? I can't get my mother to stop talking about that day. How old are you anyway?" He asked, taking another drink of his butterbeer.

Tess understood his comment. She waved off the thank you, not wanting to make a big deal about it. She decided not to push, knowing that life was full of regrets and 'what-ifs' other situations occurred. She wasn't one to dwell on them, but when she had to deal with it, it was just normal. She knew that this conversation was a bit depressing, so she decided to concentrate on the topic of children.

She laughed at his comment about his mother wanting kids. It seemed that mothers were the same ranging in all countries in the worlds. She shook her head amused.

"No, my mother concentrates on getting grandchildren from my older brother Alec. He's...he's a bachelor and enjoys it greatly if you know what I mean" she said wrinkling her nose. "I'm twenty, turning twenty one in a few, so my mom is pushing for me to settle down. Already!"

She shook her head, not believing that her mother already complained considering her own parents had married right out of Hogwarts.

"She's waiting for me to be swept up, and for my brother to settle down. The joys of having an older brother is that they get most of the flack for not having kids."

As soon as she said her age, he choked on the butterbeer he was drinking and began coughing, pounding at his chest to get all the hacks out. Finally, when his eyes were red-rimmed and he had a sore throat, the coughing finally died down. He took a napkin offered by the barman with a nod and wiped at his mouth in embarrassment. "Sorry about that," he murmured, pushing his drink away from him slightly.

Twenty! Twenty! He was at least eight years her senior, and...he shook his head. Well. There went all his charms. She was too young for him anyway, wasn't she? He would have thought she was at least twenty-four with a young face. But twenty. He placed a hand on his forehead and mentally bashed his head against a wall. He considered becoming an old hermit.

"I can understand the bachelor part," Dimitri said dryly, raising an eyebrow. "But I can't say I experience the joy of the 'job' myself. I'd rather take care of the children up at the school and read then look for...shadier forms of pleasure."

He reached out for the bottle and took a couple of drinks when he was satisfied he wasn't going to choke again. "He gets all the flack, and I get all the flack," Dimitrius murmured. "Not surprised since we are the eldest children and all that. Though you're...jung. You shouldn't be worrying about that stuff yet." young.

As soon as she said twenty, her eyes widened as she jumped as his coughing fit. She rushed over to his side and patted his back trying to get him to calm down. She blushed as people were staring at them and she patted his back biting back amusement over his fit.

"Are you alright? Oh Merlin are you choking?! Raise your hand if you're choking" she said worriedly as she fretted over him.

But as he calmed down, she sat across from him and looked at him worriedly. She blushed at his comment about 'shadier forms of pleasure' and she lowered her head taking a sip of her Butterbeer. Were all men the same? She figured that Alec was just one way, but Dimitri saying around the same thing, she tried not to giggle immaturely.

"Please don't call me young, I'm not a kid" she said grinning. "Trust me at this age my mother was pregnant with Alec, she says I'm a bit behind."

She tilted her head and smiled at him despite his disheveled look and his near choking incident she was having a good time.

"I'm fine for now," he said, a little touched that she actually came over and tried to help him get over his coughing fit. Then again, she was a healer. It basically came as second nature to her to help out someone in need, no matter what the task was. "Just went down the wrong pipe and all that, I'm sure you know how it goes."

Shaking his head, he smiled at her. "Just gotta let your brother work through it I guess," he finally said. "My students and my books take up most of my time, and there's no place I'd rather be than at Durmstrang or in a bookstore. Your brother will find the one for him in time I guess." He canted his head. "Unless he doesn't want to that is."

He held out his hands apologetically. "Bitte verzeihen sie mir, meine kleine schönheit. It's a natural reaction to call you young, I suppose, when you're not that young to some people." He ran a hand through his hair and mentally bashed his head against a wall again. Please forgive me, my little beauty.

"Right" she said with a giggle as he tried to explain himself.

Tess shook her head and laughed again as he tried to make an excuse for Alec. She had given up hopes on Alec even dating, let alone a relationship. Her brother was just too frustrating. She pushed all thoughts of him away and concentrated on the current situation.

"I find it great that you have your priorities set" she said softly. "I always wanted to be a Professor, but I didn't have the firmness to be a professor. I always wanted to teach potions, or DADA"

She thought about how that quickly didn't work out, considering she was meant to be working at St. Mungos. She smiled at his apology and laughed softly, showing him he wasn't taking it to heart.

"It's okay" she said smiling. "I just get a lot of flack at work, so I'm used to being defensive."

"I'm sure you'd do a good job teaching if you had more - what did you call it? Firmness?" He chuckled and crossed his arms. "I'm not so 'firm' as you so eloquently put it with my students. I only have a fair few, and they are pretty easy to take care of most days. Just teach them the incantation, and let them have at it."

He took another drink from his bottle before he grinned. "Besides, if my hands aren't full with my students, then I have them full with my pup. He's just a baby really, but he's already quite big. He's an Alaskan Malamute, and they get to be huge dogs. His name is Stolz, which means proud in German." Dimitri said, a large smile lighting up his face. "He's trouble, but good trouble. Luna gave him to me."

Dimitri let his mind wander back to Stolz, and he wondered if the pup would have torn up his chair before he got there. Shaking his head, he figured that it was likely, but he would just repair it later. "I still am sorry," he finally said, a little sheepishly. "You tend to just call people young once you're almost thirty. You have all rights to be defensive, and besides, you're probably one of the youngest healers! All the old bags are probably jealous."