Of Alliances and Hidden Craftiness PV Closed

Arissa Wright had never expected herself to be sorted into Slytherin. Yes, it's not her first choice, however Slytherin was far better than Gryffindor, which she actively avoid. At the very least, she could say that Slytherin valued intelligence that could drive their ambition. And of course, cunningness.

So, when she heard the whispers and taunts being thrown their way, she could only scoffed. Associating Slytherin with dark magic was foolish.

"How... barbaric." She remarked. Her expression did not change and honestly, Arissa couldn't exactly feel offended as she was quite experienced in handling insults. Tea parties hosted by her grandmother was akin to a battlefield, with poisonous words being thrown around like missiles.

This derogatory remarks by the Gryffindor was so... weak that she found herself pitying them for their naivety. And of course, her pity also caused by the fact that they'll end up sniffling in tears after the this class.

Arissa was not one to confront them altogether, no. She's a Slytherin, craftiness was in her blood. Those lions, who valued their bravery, could only fell as her venom ran into their bloodstream.

"You're a Slytherin," she said to the girl beside her. "We do not cry like weaklings." Her eyes wandered towards the duo, who seemed proud for their so-called justice. "Nor do we accept insults like Hufflepuffs."

An amused glint flickered in her eyes at the suggestion by her fellow Slytherin. "Killing Curse?" She snorted. "Too soft. Crucio would be better."

After a while she added, "Personally, I felt like many dark wizards came from Slytherin because of their thirst towards their ambition. Nothing more, nothing less. The quality that we value, 'cunningness' is one quality that often being classified as bad. But that's not exactly how the world worked."Her eyes zeroed onto the red tie that the nuisances wore. "Hufflepuff, loyalty. Gryffindor, bravery. Ravenclaw, intelligence. All those are good qualities that people truly like."

She turned her head back towards the other girl and said,"We on the other hand, value certain qualities that are not universally accepted by others. That's my opinion on this. But... since we're already branded as evil, why don't we... show them, exactly how a Slytherin worked? "

Her fingers pat her book lightly, as a smirk made its way to her face."Fancy hunting some lions with me?"

The professor have yet to arrive, so what's stopping them from having some... fun?

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@Arissa Wright

The blonde next to her seemed to be taking the insults a lot better than Juniper was. Her expression hardly changed at all, and the sarcastic remark, paired with the scoff emitted from her lips, made it clear that she didn't give a damn what the Gryffindors' thought about her. Although she was slightly rattled by the pair's hatred and prejudice, she couldn't help but feel impressed. How did the blonde make it seem like the insults had just deflected off her?

Juniper raised an eyebrow at the girl's comment. How many times would the profiles that seemed to come with different houses come up in conversation? Was this just... normal Hogwarts culture? If so, she wasn't really sure how long she would last here. She was accustomed to bullying, but one of the reasons she had come here in the first place was to escape that. Juniper didn't want to face another group of "mean girls" and have to put up with being ostracised and teased again. "Are Hufflepuffs... considered weak or something?" she asked.

A small smile flickered across her face at the blonde's response, heart leaping slightly at the discovery of someone who shared her sense of humour - dangerous and dark, wavering uncertainly between humour and cruelty. "The Torture Curse, hmm?" Juniper mused to partly to herself softly, regarding the two Gryffindors in front of her with controlled disdain. "Too bad it's illegal. It isn't worth getting thrown into Azkaban for those two." She was glad that she had read ahead now; she could keep up with her fellow Slytherin's snarky comments. However, it appeared that the girl also had some wisdom in her too - her next words gave Juniper something to think about for a few weeks. For now, though, she would have to come up with something thoughtful to reply with. She didn't know why, but for some reason she wanted to impress the girl next to her. Scholar mode, on.

"How can cunningness and ambition be considered evil?" Juniper leaned back in her seat, the front two legs momentarily leaving the ground before landing again with a light thud. "It simply means Slytherins are more clever and creative in the way they reach their goals. But then again..." she paused thoughtfully. "It doesn't matter whether or not they like it or not. At the end of the day, it's us who gets there faster, right?"

She hesitated slightly at the blonde's suggestion. As much as she would have loved to say yes straight away, she had no idea who this girl was. Heck, she didn't even know her name... and besides, it was only the second day of class. She hadn't had the chance to make a good impression on all the professors yet, and she was hoping to have a respectable reputation throughout her time at Hogwarts. She didn't want her relationship with the professors to be ruined before they even started teaching. That was the cautious side of Juniper. She had just showed the other girl a little bit of her fun, sarcastic side, the one that spoke her mind and was capable of having deep, meaningful conversations... but gosh, once again, she barely even knew her. Juniper didn't know what she was like.

Then again, she really did want to get back at the Gryffindors. In the few seconds that had followed he blonde's words, Juniper quickly weighed her options and decided that the opportunity to get revenge was sweeter and more enticing than sitting here and doing nothing. "Why not?" she replied. Her smile returned and her brown eyes flashed with what could only be excitement. "What do you have in mind? An army of trolls? The Bat-Bogey Hex? Buckets of ice-cold water?"

Arissa shook her head. "I'm not calling Hufflepuff weak, although I do see that some of them are far too kind for their own good. Sometimes, kindness could bring a lot of trouble, and I often associate it with fragility of one's heart. However, that's simply my own opinion - it may be true, or it may not be." She tapped her finger lightly on the book. "But, there's some that do surprise us. After all, humans are a surprising creature."

Among all the four houses, Hufflepuff have very good traits. None of them could be classify as evil. Arissa quite like the Hufflepuffs traits, but she can't deny that the positive qualities of it did attract troubles sometimes. One such as her, won't let herself being too kind, and that may contribute to her house placement.

The statement from the other girl greatly amused the blond girl, as she hummed in agreement. "Yes, you are correct. They may not like us and what we value, but they surely can't deny the fact that we achieved our success due to that."

The one that matter is the identity of the winner after all. Who care about the process?

Arissa merely suggested 'hunting the lions' as a way of making their first impression as intimidating as possible. It's fun playing with them, but the entertainment could change into boredom at their annoyance after a month. She could see the hesitation in the other girl's expression. However, she did offer suggestions that were a bit extreme for a First Year. "I won't dare to jeopardize my reputation among the professors. There won't be any hex, though it might be a good idea when we're older. And trolls? Interesting but too dangerous."

If her family found out, she'll get a long lecture about it. And perhaps, a howler would be sent during breakfast as well. They need a more sneaky plan, that won't disclose their identity. But for now...

Arissa's gaze wandered upon the figures of her victims, and remarked,"They merely insult us, correct? So why don't we just return it to them? After all, we do have a class still. Or perhaps there's some Weasley Wizard Wheezes products that might work for our plan, though I would say waiting a few more days would increase their list of suspects. "

Using Weasley Wizard Wheezes products would simply being considered as normal pranks, not one she was used to, but not one that she'll rejected either. They're still new, so playing safe for now would be a good idea.