Vulnerability

[Bridget Riley]

As evening approached and the sun began to sink below the horizon, the sound of chatting students quietened to a murmur. Bridget was definitely not the studious sort, yet had found herself absorbed in a book she was required to study for her upcoming lessons. She was so engrossed that she barely noticed when most of the other students filed out of the Great Hall after dinner. A few remained, either to chat with friends in other houses or to study, as Bridget was. She placed her elbow on the table and rested her chin on her hand, refusing to go up to the common room before she'd finished the last few pages. Bridget wasn't particularly enthusiastic about lessons starting, though she knew it would be exciting. She was far more interested in Quidditch, even though her fear of heights prevented her from truly enjoying flying. Bridget hadn't even ventured up to the owlery to receive post from her Mother for fear of falling back down the spiral staircase. She sighed, her thick ginger hair falling across her face, making it irritably hard to read; not to mention the fact there were several giggly Hufflepuff girls a few meters to her right. Frustrated, Bridget closed her book a little louder than necessary and got up from the table. She could have gone back to the common room to finish her book, but she assumed it would be even noisier there. For once, Bridget was almost glad she didn't enjoy studying. It seemed like an impossible task at Hogwarts. Making a mental note to find a quiet place for herself, Bridget swept over to the Ravenclaw table and sat down.

Satisfied with the low noise level at this table, Bridget was pleased to see other first years with their noses in books. At least she didn't look like the odd one out here, even if she was wearing Hufflepuff robes. She reopened her large, leather book and began tracing the words with her finger, looking for the point she had stopped at. Once she had found it, she resumed her reading. Four pages to go. She whispered the words under her breath as she read them - a habit that she had formed as a child. It was something her Mother did, and being around her so much meant that she had picked up many traits that she had. Bridget didn't consider this a bad thing. Her Mother was a kind, caring person, if a little over protective at times. At any rate, she only wanted what was best for her children. Bridget despised her Brother, Orland. After everything their Mother had taught them, she was amazed by his ignorance and lack of willpower to be a good person. The thought of her meeting with him several weeks ago still made her shudder. He had changed so much since Bridget had last seen him, and definitely not for the better. Finally, Bridget reached the end of her book, but closed it with an unsatisfied look on her face. She had been thinking too much for any of the words to go in. She was starting to think less and less optimistically about lessons, and considered asking one of the Ravenclaws for help. She glanced over at a boy sitting a few feet to her left and opened her mouth to speak, but backed out at the last second. She wasn't even a Ravenclaw for goodness' sake. Bridget felt her stomach knot. Where were her friends, anyway? She hadn't seen them since she'd been sorted, and was starting to feel quite alone.
​

 

[Blaine Matthias]

Blaine thought that it was going to be a snap here at Hogwarts New Zealand. Dressed with his finer Ravenclaw robes, Blaine thought that he looked good. His amber eyes shone with intensity, the arrogance that could just spill from them was incredible. Another thing that was incredible was the fact that he had already gotten a best friend. Vladimir Zhefarovich, the Slytherin that was at his side right now. Blaine's murmurs and his mutters surely did not get heard from anyone in the Great Hall. Blaine had some ideas of what they could do, but it seemed to be a little on the boring side. However everything Vladimir was suggesting was practically illegal, so that was out too. Blaine thought, 'Where in the hell was this boy raised, in hell?' Then again from what he had heard from the family of Zhefarovich, one might be happier in hell. Blaine was not too fond of things. Blaine kind of wanted to just go back to the dorm and finish up on his book that he was reading, but he had a feeling that he was not going to get to. His twin ended up in Slytherin, and Vladimir's twin ended up in Hufflepuff. Now that could have been a shame if Blaine disliked any of the houses. But he did not. It explained why they were walking down the Hufflepuff tables right now, looking for Zinaida.

However Blaine saw something that could be amusing. He used one of his hands to hold Vladimir back from walking and explained to him a genius plan to entertain themselves for the next seven years. It would be hilarious to have a minion, especially a pretty one. Blaine looked over at Vladimir and nodded at him, before he walked down and then plopped down next to the girl that looked alone, and seemed to feel it too. Blaine was good with reading people, but he smirked a bit when Vladimir sat down on the other side of the Hufflepuff girl. Blaine was the first one to speak from the pair, "Hey there, the name is Blaine Matthias. That is my friend over there, Vladimir. We thought you might like some company." Though right now he did not want Vladimir to even talk. Vladimir's voice alone was somewhat icy, and he did not want to scare off the Hufflepuff. Blaine just thought that with the tone of his should soften the girl up. Blaine had a knack for acting after all.​

 

[Vladimir Zhefarovich]

Vladimir Zhefarovich walked along with Blaine Matthias while going through the Great Hall. He wanted nothing more than to just get rid of so many people in here. They were so annoying and it was disgusting. So many mudbloods and half-breeds. He hated them all. Everyone here sucked. It was just the way it was. Vladimir had nothing to do, and he needed something to do. Blaine was entertaining enough but he wanted to do something that would bring him some entertainment and some now. Vladimir sighed and he offered, "We can go shove people off of the cliffs and see how long it took for them to hit the bottom. Especially the mudbloods since they don't do anything for the society except dirty the place up." However Blaine did not seem to like that idea, and he did not know what else to do that could be labeled as enjoyable to pass the time. Vladimir honestly could not think of anything. At least he had a friend though, an ally. That much assisted him, especially one in Ravenclaw and a pure-blood to boot. They had a lot in common, both being twins and the other twin ending up in another house. Right now they were heading down the Hufflepuff table, his eyes looming down to see if he could find Zinaida, whom was not around for some reason.

The Slytherin shot Blaine a look for making physical contact with him, for holding him back for something. Vladimir looked up to see what he was gesturing to, and then saw the girl that looked somewhat attractive if someone liked that sort of thing. Vladimir certainly did not. Blaine whispered to him the plan and he thought that it was a good plan. It would be enjoyable for some time anyway. He walked over to the table and he took his seat on the other side of the girl, and figured that Blaine would do the talking for him. Vladimir being silent was the best thing since he was good at lying and acting, but there was just something about his voice that could scare off people. However he could play nice and innocent if he really needed to. So right now he simply nodded in agreement.​

 

[Bridget Riley]

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Had Bridget not been feeling so alone and vulnerable, her reaction to two boys seating themselves down either side of her would have been far different. However, under the current circumstances, Bridget was naive and in need of company. She smiled weakly at the Ravenclaw boy who sat down first, the knot in her stomach relaxing somewhat as he spoke. His tone of voice was comforting, and though there was something a little odd - perhaps unnatural - about the whole situation, Bridget pushed the nagging feeling to the back of her mind. At that moment, she hardly even cared if they were up to something. Her weak smile strengthened as she relaxed further. Glancing to her other side, Bridget's eyes momentarily paused on Vladimir's face. He was undeniably good looking, though upon thinking this Bridget blushed very slightly and turned her attention back to Blaine. "Thank you! Bridget Riley. Yeah, I think my friends ditched me the second we got off the train." The moment these words had left her lips, Bridget looked down guiltily. She had just met these boys and was already telling them about her lack of friends. Way to make a good first impression, Bridge, she thought angrily.

Pushing her book towards the middle of the table in a silent protest of reading, Bridget smiled and tucked her fiery hair behind her ears. Since arriving at Hogwarts, Bridget had barely done any exploring at all. Considering this was one of the things she had promised herself to do, she was slacking. It was hard to have fun without having friends to share it with though, so she hadn't really had the chance. Now, however, Bridget had found two seemingly friendly boys who looked like they could be a laugh, and she wasn't about to waste time reading whilst they were around. "Hey, want to do something fun? I've done nothing but study since we got here and I need a break," she said, grinning sheepishly. Her idea of 'fun' probably differed slightly from theirs, but she was willing to try something new if it meant somebody would like her.​

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[Blaine Matthias]

Blaine could see that the girl was relaxing with the two of them at her sides. Blaine looked over at Vladimir and wondered how to do this. Vladimir was the influence, and Blaine would have to be the talker. It would be something fairly interesting. He was really interested in having a girl do so much for him without even trying. And since she was a Hufflepuff, perhaps she would be easy to manipulate too. Surely Vladimir was thinking along the same lines. What helped was that Vladimir had his good looks, even though Blaine thought that he looked much better than his best friend. It was a contest really everything was competitive with the two of them. Everything had to be. Blaine noticed that the girl blushed when she looked at Vladimir. Ah, she must have thought what other girls did. Vladimir was a looker. Blaine was suddenly jealous. That was not entirely fair. "Oh that is just too bad. If we were friends before now, I am sure that neither Vladimir nor I would have ditched you. They are no good anyway." Blaine was hinting at Bridget to get her to dump those friends for someone more. Like the two of them.

The girl was no longer going to read, and his eyes went to Vladimir to urge him to do some talking to. That would really help, since Blaine was not sure on how to do this professionally. As soon as she mentioned that they could do something fun, Blaine was all for it. But this time he was going to allow Vladimir to do some suggesting. A small nod and a look from his eyes spoke what he did not want to. He was all for not studying, but he was not about to suggest anything that would make Vladimir roll his eyes and show off more of his truer self that he was trying to hide. Blaine was good at keeping his more sinister side at bay that was still developing. Vladimir was having a harder time.​

 

[Vladimir Zhefarovich]

Vladimir thought that Blaine was doing an excellent job with going to manipulate the girl, and thought that there was nothing hard about this at all. This would be way too easy. Vladimir looked forward to having someone do everything for them. The girl seemed like she would be good for carrying loads of books and whatnot. Vladimir smirked a bit as he thought about turning her into a slave without even knowing. He was used to people doing things for him, so he could only imagine. Her name was Bridget Riley, and she said that her friends had ditched her. When Blaine said what he did, Vladimir knew exactly what he was getting at. For her to dump them and to join with them. Perhaps he could make that clearer. "You need better friends if they are willing to dump you like that. Perhaps you should invest in much more loyal people. I can name a few if you like." His voice was somewhat soothing, almost like he was trying to hypnotize her into doing what he wanted, and what he thought as well. It would be funny if she started to insult half-breeds like they did.

The poor girl pushed her book aside and asked if they were going to be doing something. It was definitely a lot better than studying which apparently she had been doing for some time, and now she was seeking some fun. Vladimir was the first on his feet, and he gestured for the two of them to get up. He had a few ideas of what to do. Nothing too bad or else she would be discouraged to be around them after this. "Come on, let us go around the school some. Since you have had your head buried in a book, you probably have not seen everything there is to see with the castle." The first place they could go was the dungeons, as it was eerie to those that were not used to dark environments. It made Vladimir feel at home while he was down there.​