Valeria Chovnik/Relationships

Bolded names and ones outside of year sub-categories are ones she currently considers herself to be closer to. Both together indicate a very, very strong personal relationship.

## Family

### **Zoya Chovnik**

Valeria's contentious relationship with her mother was the primary subject of her personal growth throughout Hogwarts. In her earlier years, she fixated on Zoya as a subject of self-rejection. Boogeyman tales of blood purism and the way her mother involved her in social climbing schemes caused a seed of almost-hatred to bloom within her. After all, her mother used her Veela magic to use people, mostly drunk politicians, and for iotas of power and favors she hadn't ever seen manifest in youth. Zoya Chovnik in effect was entirely representative of what she disdained in herself and how physically it had manifested in this latchkey kid supervised only when her mother desired no compromise, only constraint. Valeria found herself in on and off battles of silence, will, and tiny rebellions to cement this fact.

Additionally, Valeria was bullied by her cousins a fair bit as she grew up, in part because she had no siblings to ally with and in part because she stood to inherit the status of head of the family as her mother's only daughter. Zoya did little to stop this, raising Valeria as a latchkey kid for the most part and being generally absent. While Valeria doesn't begrudge this against her mother as it's a very traditional and wizard-esque style of parenting, it didn't assist in them growing any closer or further apart.

Despite this, Valeria grew to very much take on the fiery qualities of her mother as she grew older, dropping any hint of her calculating nature, relying on instinct and embracing impulse. She became an excellent improviser. The general hypocrisy of these qualities was eventually realized after she had almost died: her moments in the forest were defined by many regrets and a singular desire to hug her mother one last time. The realization that she didn't say 'I love you' enough to a woman she was very similar to finally caused a dialogue between the two to begin, and their rift was healed when Valeria opened up to her fully and they raised her second dragon, Chernozmiy— *together.*

### The Chovnik Clan

Valeria's relationship with the primary members of the Chovnik clan (all sixteen of her cousins and eight uncles and aunts) has generally been one to vacillate. Generally though she has found herself with a much stronger relationship with them as a result of Chernozmiy's raising becoming a collective Chovnik pet project, and her status as the heir of the family is no longer in any real state of contention.

### Desmond Grey

Her distant cousin and sort of friend. They knew each other vaguely in youth, but became closer when he stayed at the Chovnik home over the summer and regularly attends her family parties. Desmond knows of her dragons only through visions, as he saw Belozmiy charring her thigh before the actual event came to pass. They bond over their mutual adoration of sweets and Valeria's ability to hook Desmond up with one of her umpteen hyper-attractive first cousins.

### **Kairav Deane-Ward**

He bares no blood relation to her. He was raised in a matter totally unlike Valeria's. In fact, everything about Kairav screams opposites, at least when it comes to his relationship with Valeria Chovnik. The actuality of this is that the reflect each other incredibly well, and he was her closest friend. Even after moving to France to attend Beauxbatons after family contention, Valeria holds him in incredibly high regard and values her relationship with Kai immensely. Currently away and having been unable to see or find him for some time now that she has the means, she misses him immensely. Despite having not personally spoken for four years now, he still holds the title of best friend.

Very, very little could get between her and Kairav. He was there for her when she was cursed, he was there for her when she was attacked by shadows, he was a rapport guardian and protector and the closest, best friend she could ever ask for. Of all of her friends, he was the first to know she was a half-breed, the first to visit her home, and the first to become an honorary Chovnik. Valeria has no biological siblings, but Kairav was and forever will be the closest thing she's ever had to a brother.

## Friends

### **Laken Valentine**

Valeria knows it would be presumptuous to consider Laken much beyond a good buddy as of current, but he's been a weirdly consistent, albeit strange sort of presence. During her first year, Valeria found herself in a cursed purse incident which was a crazy, unfortunate spectacle wherein the bespectacled detective offered solace and invitation to the waiting wings of the Expeditionary Society. Later, it was a 'he versus me' rivalry as she took on an antagonistic role— as *The Candburglar, stealer of sweets!* Laken, as a bastion of justice, refused to let her walk away unscathed. A few skirmishes ensued as he followed the trail of Val, the notorious candy thief.

In her graduate career, the two have reunited as penpals! Laken and Val sent letters back and forth for awhile before meeting on an important investigation into a cult, the Sons of Ekrizdis. Thereafter, Laken agreed to use his role as Healer to sneak Valeria into the school as to make sure she was in-person able to tell Oswald Arkwright that she hadn't, in fact, died.

Additionally, the two had a conversation about Isaac Hiltshire, October Quarscophus, and the future of MAGES, the latest attempt to revive the long-dead Expeditionary Society. After Val gave him her old badge, he talked to her about it and the two agreed to offer the burgeoning society a degree of adult protection and guidance.

### **Cora Ray**

*"Look at that crazy bald girl."*

Cora Ray, first year mess extraordinaire. Between poisoning muffins, starting fights, and killing small mammals, her reputation was well-established by the time Valeria Chovnik took a chance, drew from a hat, and had the name 'Cora Ray' as her secret santa. Having known that she accidentally killed her pet ball python Luther in a pumpkin patch fire accident involving the Glamis prior, Valeria was well aware of what she was walking into giving her a new toad... and fireworks. From there, a truce melted into friendship melted into *best* friendship as Valeria steered Cora from sadism into the harmless and ridiculous.

The two together terrorized their third and fourth years as master of pranks and all manner of monstrous nonsense. Together, they were an unstoppable magic bad bitch duo, and with Cora's appetite for mischief, she and Val achieved something of a together record for most amount of detention they've seen someone ever serve: together, the two of them were assigned a whole semester's detention on the first day of school. This, of course, was assigned after a month-long plan to prank the opening feast by using charmed stinky planes, powdered paint, and lots and lots of poorly utilized time.

The last Valeria saw of Cora was when she left in the latter half of her fourth year to raise the nearly-hatched Belozmiy. She told Cora about the egg and the danger she expected to face, and when she came back to Hogwarts an approximate year later, Cora was gone. She misses her terribly and values her relationship with the girl very deeply.

### **Edward Sark**

You'd think that after beating the hell out of Eddie Sark in a duel not once, twice, nor thrice, but *six* times would teach him a lesson that Fury of the Small wasn't just reserved for D&D, but you'd be wrong. Eddie was a Gryffindor compatriot but in his own world (that world being Sunny Nocturne) and they had a friendly rivalry which was short-lived, since it's hard to not make friends with a Gryff buddy. (This rivalry consisted of one incident where paint was flipendo'd at Juno's request and said beating.)

However, while they drifted apart for their middle years, they've reconnected as seventh years and adults. Eddie, having met her dragons, thinks she's seriously insane. Valeria, being on the wrong side of the law as a vigilante, thinks that Eddie is a bit of a goody two shoes as an adult. Their playful rivalry has continued since his promise to be a friend on the auror side of things if her adventures happen to go awry.

### Juno Yoshinaga-Bloodstone

Valeria Chovnik and Juno had a special tradition as first and second year girls: Divination tea-readings. After a chance pairing for a pet project, the two became very close friends and was among the coalition of Sunny Nocturne's closer friend circle, outside of Evan Godfrey. Said circle consisted of herself, Kairav, Niles, Eddie, and Juno, and the group was filled with awkward romantic chemistry all assisting in Juno's slow breaking out of her shell. While Valeria hasn't seen Juno in a very long time, she warmly remembers the incredibly shy girl.

*Even* if she was the one who roped her into the cursed purse nonsense.

### Kat Lynx

Kat was among a new generation of 'little guys—' acquaintances and friends which were much younger than Valeria herself, and the two seemingly hit it off very quickly after talk of pranks escalated into a very real thievery and prank. Kat from then on was a tiny, pink-haired protege, right up until Valeria disappeared for awhile. When she came back, Valeria unknowingly was the victim of the girl's blooming natural legilimency wherein she found out about her dragon egg.

After her return from the sojourn to raise Belozmiy, she and Kat became much closer, especially after an incident in the forest where Kat and Val did a little swap of secrets. The girl revealed her part-fairy pact, and Valeria revealed on purpose or otherwise that her Ukrainian Ironbelly was a resident of the Forbidden Forest. This was only *after* Valeria jumped into a portal in the fairy realm to rescue Kat from whatever was happening, regardless of if she needed it or not.

Currently, the two are a bit distanced. Valeria sent a letter explaining her death and worrisome disappearance, an effective letter confirming her state as deceased... except she wasn't. They've not talked or reconnected since her victorious return to life.

### Valeran Levi

Outside of Kairav Deane-Ward, Valeran Levi is probably the most level-headed Gryffindor she's ever met... for better or worse. Valeran is many things she isn't: sensible, level-headed, and academically gifted. Though they've known each other for a very long time, there haven't been a great many notable skirmishes they've directly faced together until the latest adventure with the Sons of Ekrizdis and their house of horrors, wherein his tendency to turn into a bear notably caused the floor to collapse unceremoniously beneath the lot of them but Valeria's awesome Protego Nobilis ended up saving the lot of characters which had been defeated (even if she was on 4HP as a result of... being transfigured into and out of animals.)

Valeran generally disapproves of her dragon antics and penchant for the dangerous and illegal, wherein lies their most obvious rift of personalities, even the two are close friends and value the company of one another. After her death and return, he gave her a big bear hug regardless.

### Kylie Whitehorn

Another 'little guy' friend. Valeria served as more of a mentor with their strong differences in age, but she definitely sees her as another Juno, whether she sees it consciously or otherwise. Kylie turned from a bit of a puppy who was a little unsure and preferred to follow people around to confident, strong, and sunny, which is a transformation she didn't attribute to herself but certainly was pleased to watch. Kylie even turned into a bit of a prankster, a hallmark Valeria does take a bit of selfish pride in.

Kylie was one of her first unofficial and official mentees to really connect, and she wanted very much to protect the younger girl. This was tragically cut short at the event of her supposed death, wherein she was sent one of her few post-mortem letters to confirm her seeming passing. After this was dismissed in her return, the two talked briefly but seemed to have gained a little bit of distance.

She has never met Belozmiy and doesn't know of Chernozmiy, even after the incident.

### Cecilia Evans

Cecilia and Valeria have something of a strange relationship, but at a bare minimum it is friendship. The girls have been prank buddies as Snack Girl and Rainbow Brigade, dynamic duo who have stolen a bell and then used it in turn for the honorable deed of vandalism. Never much beyond a goofy, typical friendship, the pair were certainly friends as the minor things built up.

They did, however, become closer after Valeria's sojourn to raise Belozmiy and subsequent return during fifth year. She took Cecilia into the forest to see Belozmiy, and when his claws turned to Cecilia, Valeria in turn very quickly carted her out. She was among the few to receive a post-mortem letter from the girl explaining the circumstances of her seeming disappearance and the likelihood she'd since passed away, which were then dismissed as Cecilia was the first to discover her triumphant return to life... as she unceremoniously raided the Halloween Ball.

There's been some awkward, uncertain romance since and during this affair. It's very clear that Cecilia at a minimum has a crush, but Valeria is a product of Zoya Chovnik's social lessons, and her own feelings become muddied in turn. It's only very certain she's willing to exploit these feelings games to win petty Midnight Quidditch matches.

### Isaac E. Hiltshire

*"Even though we haven't talked a lot, I'm gonna miss you, and I feel bad for never really figuring out what happened with you in the forest - it must've been scary, but you were brave - and I wish I could've learned more from you instead of just on the last night of school, and who knows if I'll ever run into you again! This situation is like, always in Muggle movies and they're really emotional and it's always the last time someone sees someone else."* - Isaac Hiltshire, on Valeria's last evening of school.

Isaac Hiltshire is Valeria's newest edition to her repertoire of stray mentees, and Isaac is perhaps currently the most exciting. He explained that he was seeking to form MAGES, a new society to replace Valeria's valued Expeditionary Society, and the encounter went on to form something of a pet project of supervision for herself and Laken Valentine. Additionally, she gave him the task of figuring out what the names of her dragons— Belozmiy and Chernozmiy— meant. Having finally done that, he was whisked away over winter break on an adventure to her house in the Carpathians to meet the duo of beasts.

## Class of 2023 and 2024

#### Calypso Casseo

Valeria is thoroughly convinced that to some degree, the Casseo girl is bipolar or something. Her abrupt mood changes have made the girl sometimes very disagreeable and sometimes not, and even if Valeria is a seemingly master improviser, no amount of charm can assist in her endeavor to please the fundamentally displeased, as Ms. Casseo is. In addition to being her already cantankerous self, the knack of Calypso to go 'tough love' on her Quidditch team made her more complex to a poor, confused Valeria. She regards the girl with caution after she incited recklessly the rage of her *former boyfriend* (Merlin *forbid)* Balthazar Maxim, resulting in Valeria's assault... in the middle of Diagon Alley.

#### Medraut Prince

*Gesture tracked by tilted head, followed by disavowal of adventure's call. Older, now.*

While her encounters with Medraut Prince have been generally sparse, they've certainly been engaging and mysterious. Their first encounter amounted to little beyond recognizing Veela heritage in one another, and their subsequent encounters have unearthed little beyond tidbits of one another and one quest to make some sort of Faustian bargain with Peeves to stop being obnoxious long enough for clock repair. He's a cool Professor, and considering her total aversion to authority, that's a high order compliment.

#### Balthazar Maxim

Valeria thinks Balthazar is many things (a lot of them very difficult to say in polite conversation) but most of them are summed up in: dangerous, ornery, and unpredictable. Her goal was to purposefully play stupid long enough to totally slip under his radar, efforts entirely undermined by Calypso Casseo's temper. She ended up blown up and cut open in the middle of Diagon Alley and fears him totally since the encounter, even if he's dropped off the face of the map *and* even if she'd almost landed a hit.

#### Ivy Su

Trying to make friends with Ivy is unadvisable to many people, but especially to stalwart Gryffindors who tend to favor the ill-advised and incredibly stupid. Ivy is distant, cold, but really talented. Valeria respects her, but understands that friendship is impossible and probably ill-advised, since she apparently is willing to turn people into marbles and torture them should the situation call for it.

Which is *totally* different from forcing a guy with his hands glued to a wall to get an inkpot mustache and dance endlessly.

#### Orwell Galilei

Whatever respect Orwell holds for her isn't entirely equally reciprocated. He's kind of uptight, a bit overly chivalrous, and likes to jump in front of other people's metaphorical swords. While kind of a cool dude, she's reckless and capable enough to do things on her own, and Orwell's sensibilities aren't always the most agreeable considering she's the same girl who illegally raises dragons for a day job and hobby... since the tender age of fourteen.

#### Christine Marilyn

While Valeria doesn't know much of or about Christine, as a fellow former CoMC T.A., she can't be all that bad! What Valeria doesn't know is that she unwittingly gave Christine as *Clarissa* some polyjuice potion she'd been brewing on the side. Christine, being a metamorphmagus, disguised herself and retrieved it with the intent of giving it to her current girlfriend, Pamela Refesber, and Valeria gifted it to her under the condition she did something exciting with it, and not as she perceived it, "boring."

## Class of 2025

#### **Niles Cooper**

To Val, it's more than a little tragic that she and Niles have fallen apart and Niles off the face of the map. Their shenanigans first year with Kairav Deane-Ward together made them a powerful (perhaps Golden?) trio, though she hasn't spoken to Niles outside of second or third year and comments in passing since. She remembers their relationship as children fondly and hopes to reconnect, since they were quite the band of adventurers before time moved them apart.

#### **Sunny Nocturne**

Queen Bees and Wannabes was real when Sunny Nocturne was in the room, but the Snake Queen decided she liked Val, they got along, and they braided hair and did girly things until Valeria ended up cursed, unapproachable, and irritable. Their friendship was slightly awkward thereafter, though it was reconciled at the big event of that year, Ms. Nocturne's out of this world birthday. Truth or Dare was very much dominated by the *Flip Queen—* Sunny's nickname for Val.