Introduction on the Black Lake PV Closed

~ * ~

Ruby had wandered out to the lake once again. It was not a rare occurrence for the young Slytherin – in fact, she found herself outside most days, but it never got old. Every day, the sights were slightly different. She relished the wonderful spring smells, and it was wonderful to be in the serenity of nature. Despite there being other people out on the grounds, she could observe them from a distance to learn about them, and she didn't have to interact with any of them. Typically, people didn't come to bother her. Perhaps it was because she was a bit intimidating. Maybe it was her posture, maybe it was her cold blue stare, maybe it was her air.

She walked until she was only a little way away from the lake and then stopped, crossing her arms and staring out at the expanse of glistening water, with her head tilted slightly up and to the right. The way Ruby had moved was the same way as always, the same way she had been raised to move. It was smooth and silent, and it had a feeling of elegance, grace, and sophistication to it. Not a hair or fold was out of place in Ruby's appearance, and there wasn't a speck of dirt on her robes, which contributed to the clean, polished look. Her back was perfectly straight at all times, as it had become natural for her to remain like this after years of being reminded to stand up straight and to always look her best. Her posture was one of the things that contributed to her air. Her air – aura, presence, general feeling, whatever you wanted to call it – was one of determination, passion, power, ambition, confidence, and sharp intelligence. The fire in her eyes that was created by these things blended together was masked by her cold, calculating nature.

Perhaps it scared people away, but she wasn't really bothered by that fact. Besides her three favorite cousins – who were essentially her best friends and older brothers – she had only met a few people that she actually cared about and wouldn't just classify as "acquaintance", "ally", or "person to manipulate". Instead, she had finally found some rare people that she would call friends, and she was starting to value them more and more. There were some very specific requirements that Ruby needed in a friend, and not many people met them. It didn't bother her that not many people liked her in the first place, but she didn't have any proper enemies yet. She would manipulate people into liking her, or into seeing her as someone who should not be trifled with (preventing her from making a proper enemy), depending on the situation and what she chose to do with the person. One of the reasons why Ruby could eventually become rather dangerous was because she didn't really need anyone else. She was independent, mostly self-sufficient, and she could easily gather more allies if she needed other people's skills. It didn't matter where she was placed, she would find a way to get what she wanted, whether people realized or not.

She dragged her gaze away from the water and let it wander across the other people who had found their way out here. She would pause at every person, gathering every bit of information she could from their appearances and how they were acting, then she would analyze it, mentally "save" it to remember for later, and move on. This repeated until she had completed a full scan of everyone scattered around the area. It had been subtle, so that no one would realize that it was her or even notice that she was doing it. She now mulled over the things she had just found out. Knowledge was extremely important to her, and it was one of the things that she desired the most. She had a deep love of learning, and was constantly trying to find out anything and everything she could. Because of this, she ended up spending a lot of time reading, and a lot of time in the library. However, book knowledge was not the only knowledge available. There was always the option of learning through doing – and she certainly did more than her fair share of experiments because of that – and there was the social aspect. She didn't have a problem observing people, or even talking to them. Sometimes, she would poke and prod at them with her words, just to see how they reacted. A test, of sorts.

Had anyone caught her eye? Was there anyone that stood out in any way, anyone that interested her? She thought over this to find out if there was anyone she would like to talk to. Then, she felt someone's gaze resting on her. She was being watched. She didn't want to madly spin around trying to find the source of it, so she ran through a mental list of who it could be. The girl in the tree, she realized. It must be. Who had it been, anyway? A Slytherin first year… ah – Bridget Collins, if she remembered correctly. She had actually seemed at least somewhat interesting. For one, she was in a tree, and Ruby herself loved climbing trees. She had also been drawing or something, which was an activity that she also enjoyed and did frequently. Well, it seemed like she had found the next person that she would talk to…

She finally turned around and directed her gaze into the branches of the tree, meeting Bridget's eyes. Apparently, the other girl was still watching her. Ruby raised an eyebrow, and then remembered that she probably seemed a bit too cold. A smirk appeared on her face in addition to it, lighting up her eyes with a gleam of amusement. “Planning to stare at me all day, are you?” she questioned teasingly, but not in a mean way. She realized that this could make Bridget uncomfortable, but she wasn't done yet. “It's okay, I'm only joking. My name's Ruby Cazares, if you weren't aware. I believe you're Bridget Collins, but please do correct me if I'm wrong.” With that, she began scaling the tree. Years of practice had got her to the point where it felt effortless to her – almost like second nature. She shifted to find a comfortable position, and then settled, cat-like. “I hope you don't mind if I join you up here, but I figured that it would be easier to talk if we don't have the branches in the way and the large distance between us.” Her tone was softer now that she didn't have to partially yell because of the distance, and perhaps it would make her seem slightly friendlier, more open, and kinder.

~ * ~

As Bridget had hoped, Ruby Cazares had initiated the conversation. It had been a bit creepy that Ruby had somehow known she was staring at her, but as she had noted before, the Slytherin was incredibly observant. Personally, Bridget thought that Ruby’s first remark was a bit rude. Yes, she had been staring at her, but Ruby had been looking closely at everyone else.

Ruby scaled the tree with ease. It appeared she had done a lot of tree climbing, something they had in common. Similar interests usually made conversation easier, and besides, now talking would be much less awkward.

“Yes, I’m Bridget Collins,” she confirmed. She wasn’t surprised Ruby knew her name; after all, they were both 1st year Slytherins and Bridget had known who Ruby was.

Ruby definitely was intelligent, something she valued in friends. It was annoying to be surrounded by people who don’t take hints, after all. But Ruby scared her too. There was something... manipulative about her. Maybe it was the way she noticed everything. Bridget wasn’t sure if she could trust Ruby, but then again, Bridget only trusted a few select people, and none of which attended Hogwarts. She would need to know a lot more about Ruby before trusting her. She was a Slytherin, after all, and Bridget had the feeling she possessed cunning in spades. But everything Ruby had done had been so subtle—her observations of everyone had been almost imperceptible. Am I reading between the lines too much? Bridget wondered. Her instincts were nearly always right, though...

Regardless of her qualms about Ruby, Bridget was hoping for a friend. Maybe that friend would be Ruby Cazares. After all, Ruby was actually interested enough in her to initiate a conversation. No one else had done that; in fact, everyone else at Hogwarts had entirely ignored her.

Bridget’s brain raced as she tried to figure out what to say. Small talk was not one of her strengths and she was bad at social interaction in general. Her hazel eyes were no longer fixed on Ruby. Watching people from a distance was fine, but when people were this close, she was uncomfortable to look them in the eye. She plucked a yellow-green leaf off the willow branch and absentmindedly shredded it. She watched the shredded bits spiral to the ground. What did she know about Ruby? Ruby was smart and did well in her classes... oh, Ruby was a Chaser on the Slytherin Quidditch team. Bridget was hoping to make the Quidditch team in the future. She had been rather good at flying, and her small frame was the perfect build for a Seeker.

“You’re on the Quidditch team, right?” Bridget asked. Of course, she knew the answer, but she figured it was a good conversation starter. She hoped Ruby hadn’t minded the long moments of silence before she had figured out what to say. Gripping the bark of the willow tree, she swung her dangling legs as she waited for Ruby’s response.