10-28-2009, 02:21 AM
Erin's eyes widened a little bit at the other girl's deluge of information and randomness. She was a very taciturn person by nature, and it was just a little bit off-putting to listen to someone simply dump everything on her with no regard for...anything really.
She wrinkled her nose as the girl divulged her blood history, not because she held any opinions on it, but because she was simply shocked that it was a conversational topic. With times being such as they were...with even reports of there having been Death Eater activity at an international Quiddich match...
Did this girl really think it was appropriate or -safe- to simply spout off her blood history to just anyone? Especially when her blood was not -only- impure but perhaps of the worst kind--traitorous wizards who had intermarried with Muggles and tarnished their blood... She didn't think it actually mattered, but she knew that there -were- people who thought it did.
God did she know that there were people who thought it did.
She spent most of her life in a constant battle to -prove- that she wasn't one of them.
Then again, that wasn't entirely fair. Not everyone knew who she was--not everyone knew why she was so up tight and bordering on neurotic about some things. Nobody here knew who she was. And not many people even -knew- what the Riddle name meant.
Perhaps that was one of the better parts of her father's delusions of grandeur--he had given himself a 'regal' name, and proceeded to make a very -nasty- name out of it. Nobody remembered that the Dark Lord had once been named Tom Riddle.
Then again...she wasn't keen on giving away her last name -anyway-.
Though this girl seemed quite happy to do talking enough for the both of them, so she just nodded along with the entire tale, interjecting a curious 'oh' or an understanding 'mm' as it flowed to encourage her along. Yes, she could be a simple idle passenger in this conversation, and perhaps manage to eke out a 'friend' without giving away very much about herself at all.
"We can go to the library whenever you're ready, Anemone. There's no rush...unless your studies are pressing?" She acted older than she was--it was another way to keep people distant from herself, and although it was a lonely existence, it was all she really dared do. She was too scared to keep people close to herself.
She was only trying to make friends this year, she sternly told herself, because it would reflect badly on the Academy if she were too standoffish. These wouldn't be permanent friends, these would be temporary friendships forged for the sole purpose of appearing 'normal' while she was at Hogwarts. She wouldn't keep in touch by owl once she returned to France.
Besides...if anything happened, though she shuddered at the thought, if anything happened, they wouldn't be her friends for long -anyway-.
She stood and offered her hand to the other girl, smiling gently. "Let me help you up at least, since you sat down for my sake..."
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