vulnerable ~ tom riddle

+ one +

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         rosie's fingers intertwined as she nervously watched her cousins unload her luggage. they kept giving her small, almost sympathetic smiles, yet they weren't comforting in the slightest. the girl was about to enter her first year at hogwarts, and there was already something different about her. she was four years older than all the new students, and although she could pass for their age, she knew that she would be the centre of attention.

        her mood brightened up drastically as she was handed the carrier that contained her pride and joy, briar. briar was a soft, grey and white cat, and was soon to be the most spoiled animal in hogwarts. she had been rosie's only true family for the past 2 years, that was, until her cousins showed up out of the blue, so she had grown quite attached to the feline. rosie gently reached her hand in, letting briar nuzzle her finger.

            the girl glanced up as her cousin, a previous hogwarts student, gave her instructions. she furrowed her brows, looking confusedly at the brick wall she was supposedly supposed to run through. it seemed dangerous, surely he couldn't actually mean it, he must be playing a practical joke on her. "very funny bentley, how do we actually get to the train?" she mused, examining the train station with a slight huff, as platform 9 & 3/4 was nowhere's in sight.

           bentley chuckled slightly, leaning forward with a devious grin. "if you don't believe me, find out for yourself" he suggested playfully, running towards the wall. rosie gasped loudly, raising her hand to cover her mouth in horror. she expected him to hit the wall, however, he seemed to go right through it. her shock wore off, and she turned towards her other cousin, bentley's older sister catherine. she was the most mother like figure that rosie had ever had, so seeing her so certain that rosie could go through the wall reassured her a bit.

           the small girl took a deep breath, before jogging towards the wall, her chunky shoes making sight clacking sounds as they hit the train station floor. she squeezed her eyes shut, still expecting something to go wrong, yet she was marvelled as she effortlessly passed through the wall. she let out a slight giggle, excitedly clapping her hands together as she realized she had at least done something right.

             rosie smiled at bentley, who was holding her thunk in one hand. she had only had to take one, as catherine had taught her how to cast an undetectable extension charm, so the bag could hold almost anything. "you better owl us at least every week, or i'll be forced to send a howler to ensure my precious little cousin is okay" he teased, causing rosie to pale as she imagined the embarrassment it would cause.

           "trust me, i'll remember" she stated giving him a wide grin as she took her trunk from the male. she leaned in, hugging him slightly, though was soon pulled into a bone crushing embrace. rosie giggled, attempting to push her cousin off her, however it was no use. bentley laughed boisterously, before letting the girl go. "you better go little rosie, you'll miss your train" he said softly, a bit sad at the thought of her being gone for so long, the two had grown quite close over the summer.

            "goodbye bentley" she smiled, starting to walk away before pausing, turning back towards the blonde male. "thank you, you know, for everything" she mumbled shyly, turning away for the final time. she jogged towards the train, attempting to attract as little attention as possible, however the girl naturally made heads turn.

           she climbed onto the train, briars carrier and her suitcase still clutched tightly in her hands, though she was weighed down quite a bit by the two large objects. that was, until a rather tall, blue robed boy approached her. "are those your carry ons?" he questioned, his eyebrows furrowed slightly as the cat seemed to glare at him. he had noticed the girl looking confused, and due to the fact that he didn't recognize her, he decided to approach her.

"n-no actually, i didn't know exactly where to put th-them" rosie replied, her voice quite timid as she avoided eye contact with the male. the raven claw chuckled a bit at her nervous demeanour, and carefully reached out to take her trunk. "it's no problem, i can take them for you" the ravenclaw offered, gently taking the suitcase out of her hands.

rosie paused, biting the inside of her cheek as she debated whether or not she trusted him. after a bit of contemplation, she decided he seemed nice enough, so she handed him briars carrier. "be careful with her please" she pleaded, tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear as she looked down. the ravenclaw smiled once again, his prefect badge glimmering from the lights set up around the train.

"i'll make sure she's safe princess" he said, before walking away with her luggage in his hands. she realized she'd never gotten his name, and she'd never given hers to him. she supposed she could always ask later, she would most likely feel too guilty about not thanking him anyways.

the girl walked through the train, searching for an empty compartment. even though she'd gotten there quite early, it seemed as if everyone was already seated with their little 'cliches'. finally, after walking down the majority of the train, she came across a deserted compartment. she smiled, sitting down on one of the plush seats and taking off her backpack, setting it neatly in her lap. she reached in, pulling out one of her colouring books, along with some pencil crayons. it had been a gift from her cousins, and she'd been using it almost everyday during the summer.

when it neared the time for the train to set off, both a boy and a girl entered her cart. they were both rather nice, with friendly features and only good things to say about hogwarts. rosie perked up a bit as they made conversation, putting her art supplies away. she smiled a bit as they asked for her name "rosemary, but i prefer rosie" she responded, giggling as they gave her their names. "gedric diggory" the boy said proudly, turning towards the girl as she began to introduce herself "elise macardle" she said, giving her new acquaintance a smile.

"it's lovely to meet you two" rosie said sincerely, as she was, surprisingly, already enjoying the twos company. "may i ask what house you're in?" she questioned. the girl didn't know a ton about the different houses, however she'd gotten the basics down over the summer. both her cousins were in gryffindor, though considering there main attribute was bravery, she didn't expect to be placed in the house.

"i'm in hufflepuff, so is elise, though i reckon she's more of a slytherin than anything" he teased, causing elise to gasp and hit his shoulder. "am not!" she protested, taking offence to such a statement. she didn't have a good relationship with any of the slytherins, they all seemed far to cruel for her liking. gedric laughed, before turning back towards rosie. "i've never noticed you before, what house are you in?" he questioned. the boy didn't recognize her, however he assumed her appearance had just changed quite a bit, after all, he wasn't the most observant student.

"uhm, i don't actually know yet" she started nervously, afraid that they would judge her for joining so late. "i'm transferring, but i'll be in fourth year. i'd didn't even know what hogwarts was until a few months ago. m-my family just managed to track me down f-f-for the first time, so they adopted me, but before i was living with muggles" she explained. she didn't want to get into the whole orphan story, as it would bring the mood down, so she decided to only tell the happier parts.

gedric nodded his head, still curious, yet he could tell the girl was hesitant to tell anymore. elise nodded, not pushing it. she soon broke out in a wide smile "we're in fourth year too, so if you get sorted into hufflepuff, we'll be roommates!" she exclaimed, already thinking of all the things she could do with her new friend before she was even sorted.

"i hope i'm in hufflepuff then, i certainly don't want to be sleeping in a room full of strangers" rosie responded, her eyes widening a bit as she imagined what it would be like. gedric chuckled a bit, examining the small girl for a second. his cheeks heated up, he could already tell he was developing a small crush on the girl. "i'm sure you'll fit in with whatever house you end up in" he reassured, sending a heart stopping smile her way.

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