When we arrived on the platform we ran to board the train, in the distance Bridget saw her father looking for her in the crowd.
After boarding I thought she was going to look for her usual friends, but Bridget continued following me until I found an empty cabin. Although we arrived an hour early, there were others who had arrived even earlier.
We sat in front of each other still not talking about what had happened.
Bridget gave me a few momentary glances, but said nothing. The mood wasn't the best among us.
She was wearing jeans and a green blouse that hugged her body fantastically.
Not wanting to make her too aware of my gaze, I chose to close my eyes to meditate.
As departure time approached, a knocking on the cabin door woke me up.
On the other side of the glass was Ginerva Weasley looking like she wanted to talk to me.
I motioned for her to come in and she did.
"Hi, I just wanted to say thanks, I know how Ron can be. Now even he must be believing that he did it all alone, but I interrogated him until he told me that you were there." – She said, explaining why she was looking for me.
I nodded.
"I only did what I thought I should, you don't owe me anything Ginerva." – I said, trying to appear neutral.
The hero saving the maiden is one of the biggest clichés in existence, but I believed that for Ginerva it could be an insult. She may not have fully developed her personality yet, but she was a fierce warrior.
"Anyway, thank you." – she thanked me once again.
She then turned around, preparing to leave.
"You can call me Ginny from now on." – she said, quickly turning to me.
She left, closing the cabin door hurriedly.
Bridget was completely ignored during this exchange, which made her feel annoyed.
"Weasley, really?" – she said, finally breaking the silence.
Confused I looked at her trying to understand how she came to the conclusion.
"That smile on your face, it's annoying." – she snorted, closing her expression.
Only because she commented did I notice that I was smiling after Giner… Ginny left.
I swallowed hard, there was no way I could explain myself to her, any more than I already had.
Bridget, as a good Slytherin, also had enmity with the Weasleys, mainly because of Ronald.
I just lowered my head waiting for her to calm down.
After almost half an hour, her curiosity ended up overcoming her pride.
"What was she thanking you about?" – Bridget asked somewhat reluctantly.
I looked up at her and saw her pouting in annoyance.
"What was the big event at the end of the school year at Hogwarts?" – I asked.
Bridget only needed a second to think.
"You were in the Chamber of Secrets?! – she asked, almost shouting.
I forced myself to signal her to speak more quietly.
"Not only was I there, I was the one who opened the Chamber so her idiot brother could rescue her." – I said.
Bridget looked intensely at me.
"I have a technique that helps me recognize the world around me, with a little effort I found Parseltongue and created a spell to translate the word 'Open' in that language." – I continued to explain.
"What is Parseltongue?" – she asked confused.
"Snake language. Salazar Slytherin was a Parseltongue." – I replied.
She nodded, the whole theme of our house revolved around snakes, including our main color, green is closely associated with snakes.
"Did you fight the monster?" – she asked worriedly.
I kept looking at her thinking whether I should say it or not.
She saw me returning from the Chamber of Secrets, it was at that exact moment that I invited her to sleep with me.
"Yes, I fought the Basilisk, today I wouldn't do so bad, but I don't want to repeat the experience anytime soon." – I replied.
She seemed to connect the dots and was embarrassed.
"Did you really think I got beaten up by some Gryffindors?" – I asked, amused.
I didn't want her to focus on the fact that I had asked her to sleep with me, this wasn't her time to think about that. She would only be more confused since we didn't talk about what had happened the night before.
"You were kind of skinny, it was easy to believe." – she replied trying to provoke me.
I smiled at her.
"Then for your knowlege, even back then I could handle a dozen Gryffindors if they didn't draw their wands." – I replied in an arrogant tone.
She laughed at my confidence.
I'd probably have a hard time if I was attacked by a dozen people, even though wizards are so bad at fighting. Of course I wouldn't have stood a chance if they knew what they were doing or held me back while others beat me.
"What is a basilisk?" – she asked curiously.
"Basilisk is a snake approximately six meters long and one meter in circumference. Their eyes are capable of tearing the soul from the body of people weaker than them and if you are indirectly exposed to their eyes you will be petrified. The basilisk venom is capable of corroding body and soul." – I explained to her.
"Did you really fight it?" – she asked worriedly.
"I had the help of the Headmaster's 'phoenix', the bird took care of the basilisk's eyes, giving me a chance to survive. Ronald, like the idiot he is, opened his mouth at that moment making the basilisk attack him, so I transmuted the ground into a stone spear that pierced the basilisk's brain and put an end to it." – I told her how it happened in an attempt to comfort her from her feeling of worry.
Bridget was impressed by the story and relieved to know that the monster was dead. But soon the most important question of that whole scenario appeared in her mind.
"Who opened the Chamber of Secrets, I mean, before you?" – she asked with her eyes filled with a mix of confusion and curiosity.
I held back my laughter at that moment.
"A boy named Tom Marvolo Riddle." – I replied.
She was thoughtful for a moment.
"I don't remember anyone in Slytherin with that name." – she said confused.
She said it becouse of the claim that it was the heir of Salazar who opened the Chamber.
"You know him by another name, which interestingly is an anagram for his real name." – I said teasingly.
Seeing her confused face I pulled out a notepad and wrote the name and below I wrote 'I am Lord' and handed it to her.
Bridget began pulling the letters apart until she understood what they spelled out.
"You've got to be kidding me, did you meet him?" – she asked in surprise.
I nodded.
"A soul fragment trapped in a diary, he was trying to drain Ginny of her life force to return to life." – I explained.
"All this together with the worst Weasley... Next time you call me, I promise to be much more useful than him." – she said amidst laughter.
I laughed too, the mood in the cabin improved at that moment and I was grateful for that.
Unfortunately for me, when we finished laughing she seemed to go into deep thought and I could see the conflict of feelings in those beautiful eyes.
Bridget seemed to make a decision and turned to me.
"Are you really going after 'his' sister? – she asked in a mix of concern and envy.
Seeing the feelings she was feeling made my guilt grow.
I tried my best not to force her decision, I considered her a true friend. This friendship was something that made me feel like I owed her more than I had provided. When this happened there were two paths to resolution, but whichever destination was would be her choice.
I took a deep breath before responding.
"She's different from him, she has…potential." – I replied, trying to be brief.
She was perplexed by my words.
"So you're going to go after everyone who has…potential? – she asked.
I shook my head.
"I'm not going after anyone, I'm just going to make them know that I exist, curiosity is the best I can do. If at some point I can help with any of them, I will help and if anyone is interested, I will explain my situation." – I explained to her.
Bridget looked at me intently as she thought about my words.
"As if that would work." – she mumbled, not accepting the truth.
The path she had taken was exactly this.
She first became aware of my existence, then became curious, when she needed help I was there to support her, she showed interest and I explained my situation to her.
Bridget was still struggling with the reality of our situation, she was clearly interested, but she was having trouble admitting it unless she was in a fragile moment.
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