Change... maybe for the better PV Finished

July 21st
New house
Mentions: Flash Holmwood

The day flew by and soon enough her mother was home from work. A flurry of hugs and questions later, they were seated for dinner, and one notably less tense than the previous year. Bridget was honestly a bit overwhelmed--she hadn't been in this sort of environment for ages--but was relieved as the conversation shifted away from her and Hogwarts. With each question they asked, it became harder to skirt around the more dangerous topics. After all, they'd made up such a significant part of her school year.

It was after dinner, once Jonathan and Ellie had retreated upstairs, that she broached the first and intended to be only topic of Hogwarts' dangers. Best to deal with it now than later; the longer she kept it hidden, the worse it would seem. They were sitting at the table, Bridget across from her parents, who were looking at her with a mix of curiosity and worry. With their expectant gazes on her, she very nearly backed out; despite all her preparation, she wasn't sure this was going to go the way she needed it to. Flash's words from the errand several months ago were what compelled her to keep going. They would react with concern, sure, but even those parental instincts could be reasoned with.

"Just don't freak out, okay? It's not as bad as it looks." It was, in fact, probably worse than it looked, but for better or worse, a large part of her explanation was rooted in down-playing the whole thing, even if that meant lying a bit. As her parents, they did deserve the truth, but she couldn't bring herself to feel too bad about it. Not after the wall they'd erected between her and them when they'd found out she was a witch. Yes, things were looking better this summer, but it had only been, what, a couple hours? And there was absolutely no way she would leave behind another set of friends after she'd worked so hard to get them.

Bridget pulled off her hoodie, exposing the black ichor in the veins of her right arm. Their expressions, which she was monitoring closely, displayed their shock, and perhaps even horror, but to their credit, they didn't freak out, nor did they barrage her with questions. They were giving her time to explain this herself, which she appreciated.

"I figured this would be better to explain in person than over letters." She was rephrasing what her father had said before breaking the news about the move. It gave her satisfaction, however minimal, to throw that back in their faces. "It's what wizards would classify as a curse, although as far as curses go, hardly terrible. Highly visible, yes, but it can't hurt me." That was true, sort of. Bridget figured it was best to leave out the fact it could have killed her.

"That is, it can't hurt me so long as I take a specific potion that Hogwarts supplies every week. It's a simple, hassle-free solution. I have enough with me to last the summer." She frowned slightly, trying to decide if she should add in more. She considered saying that if she didn't go back to Hogwarts, she wouldn't be able to get the potion, but opted against it. No reason to put the thought of pulling her from the wizarding school in their heads without proof they were already thinking it.

After a long stretch of silence during which Bridget channeled all her nervous energy into tapping her fingers against her leg, her father asked, "Have there been other incidences of students being cursed?"

"No." She didn't bother to elaborate. That was, however, the truth, at least as far as she knew.

"And you're sure you're okay?" Her mother's voice, soft but demanding attention, asked. She was a nurse, and Bridget figured if she ever saw things like this, it was bad. "I know you getting this education is important, but I don't want you to be in danger."

"I'm okay, really." Just terrified of spiders and wondering when we'll next be attacked. "Besides, I need to be at Hogwarts for them to fix it."

"Can they fix it?" Bridget paused. For this, she figured it was best to tell them the truth. She couldn't pretend everything was perfectly fine when she could very well have the same blackened veins this time next year.

"Currently? No. But they're working on it."

There was another long stretch of silence. "Your mom and I will need to talk this out more," her father finally said. She was careful not to display it on her face, but she was worried. At least they hadn't already decided Hogwarts was some terrible place you should never send you child, but the wait would kill her. "However, I think we can agree you attending Hogwarts is still in your best interest." He turned to her mother for confirmation, and she nodded.

With those words and that nod, she felt herself relax. No matter what else they decided, she would still be going back to Hogwarts, and that was all that really counted.

July 24th
Park near their house
Mentions: Slytherin Quidditch Team

Bridget had never been particularly close to Jonathan. It was mainly an interest gap, coupled, of course, with her introverted nature, so the two interacting was rather a rare sight. They did, however, have a shared love of a certain sport, which was why the pair found themselves at a park a short walk from their house under the beating sun.

Before going to Hogwarts, Bridget had played softball and was rather good at it. The skills she'd picked up over her several years of playing had contributed to her decision to try out for Beater and likely had a lot to do with her gaining the first-string role alongside Erin Ryan; what she lacked in strength, she made up with accuracy.

Jonathan was the pitcher on his baseball team, so with her need to practice batting and his to work on his throwing arm, it had made perfect sense to work together. And so they got in rep after rep until they were both exhausted, never exchanging even a word. She knew he could be quite talkative when he wanted to be, but with her he was quiet, something she appreciated. It was easier to focus that way. Easier to get better.

Outside of the batting practice, she was conditioning herself--push-ups, sit-ups, whatever it took to get stronger. Quidditch in general didn't require much in the way of endurance so long as you could stand a few bludger impacts, but as a Beater, she needed to build up her fairly nonexistent muscles. Over the year she'd seen it, herself becoming stronger, an upward trend she intended to continue. Bridget anticipated more competition at try-outs this year, so just being able to consistently hit a target probably wouldn't cut it.

Between consistent meals, something that didn't always happen at Hogwarts in favor of extra studying, and the lean muscle she was gaining, the thirteen-year-old no longer looked scrawny. She was still on the smaller side for her age, sure, but not so noticeably so.

The only thing she couldn't practice over the summer was flying. She had her Nimbus 1700 with her, and Bridget hoped to soon have enough for an expensive, yet well worth-it Silver Arrow, but she couldn't exactly ride her broom around her Muggle neighborhood. She had plenty of faith in her flying skill, though, and reasoned she'd have time enough to work off any rust before try-outs. All in all, she felt ready to keep her first-string title.

July 30th
New house (in her room)

For Bridget, learning was not something that stopped on the last day of school. Summer was just as much a time for gaining new knowledge, for catching up, getting ahead. Long hours of her days were spent pouring over the upcoming year's textbooks, trying to give herself as much of a head start as possible. She was competitive, sure, and would love to be at the top of her class, but at this point that wasn't the reason she was pushing herself so hard. She needed this information, these spells to survive.

The nights were dedicated to a slightly different purpose. Bridget wasn't one to stay up long past midnight, although she was somewhat of a night owl, and without the need to wake up early in the morning, used the time after Ellie had fallen asleep for a special bit of learning. Blankets drawn over her head, flashlight in hand, she was slowly but surely working her way through a tome on fourth year Defense Against the Dark Arts spells. It was a decision she'd made not too long ago--this year's spells weren't going to cut it. The third year would eagerly do this for every subject if she could, but alas, there simply wasn't time for such a feat. Since the next year's spells were more advanced, getting a grasp on them took time, and she figured it was better to be able to consistently cast a few advanced spells than know all of them in theory yet not be able to perform them.

It was on a night about a week after her homecoming that she was researching Shield Charms, an incredibly useful spell. She was learning about its history, specifically, as she valued any and all knowledge she could gain. There was more than just the incantation and wand movement to a spell, after all.

"I guess I get what it feels like now. To have your whole world turned upside down." Bridget started--she hadn't been expecting any noise. Ellie had fallen asleep over an hour ago, or so she thought. Throwing off her covers, she turned to where her little sister lay in bed, very much awake and watching her.

The pounding of her heart from the shock slowing to its regular pace, she shook her head. "I thought you were asleep," she whispered. Ellie shrugged. "How long have you been watching me?"

"I dunno, a while. Can't sleep. I keep thinking about my friends back in Edinburgh, you know? I miss them. And now I have to make new ones in a new school where I don't know anyone."

The older girl's expression sank into a frown. She and Ellie weren't particularly close, and her little sister's tendency of pulling on Bridget's hair to annoy her had never really faded. Still, she understood what that was like all too well. In fact, she felt a little guilty--she'd never even considered that this move might be hard on Ellie.

"I- well, I'm not going to pretend it isn't hard. But you'll make new friends, I can promise you that. I did, so you definitely can." Ellie muttered something like thanks, although she didn't really sound convinced. Bridget sighed quietly--reassuring people had never been something she was particularly good at. Thankfully, Ellie switched the topic, asking her what she was doing. Bridget told her, explaining their classes and what Hogwarts was like at Ellie's request. She didnt' tell her everything, since as a little sister she was liable to use information she didn't want getting to their parents as blackmail, but it was nice to talk to someone, even if that someone was her occasionally annoying little sister.

August 19th
New house
Concerning @Katrina Walker

Bridget's mother, upon hearing about the fire that had killed Katrina's entire family, had instantly adopted the personal mission of making Katrina's stay in their home for two weeks as enjoyable as possible. It was hardly a surprise coming from the kind, compassionate woman. How she found the time was another question entirely, what with her long shifts at the hospital, but she did. Somehow she'd made Katrina's mattress on the floor between Ellie's bed and Bridget's couch look like a bed fit for a queen, the blankets and pillows perfectly arranged. She'd also filled a pouch with the Muggle equivalent of 100 pounds. Bridget pointed out that, as Katrina was a witch, she didn't have much use for non-magical currency. Her mother had insisted that she could spend it while she was with them, or at least save it since eventually she'd surely need it for something, so it was settled. The pouch was left on top of her pillow for her to find.

The other preparation came in the form of a cake. A birthday cake, specifically, as Katrina had turned thirteen a week ago. With the assistance of Ellie, who was quite the baker, they'd made her a vanilla cake with peach frosting.

Finally, the day was here. Bridget, who didn't tend to express anything in the way of strong emotion, was visibly excited. She was glad from the respite from the crazy school year but was missing her friends, so the prospect of having one over for the remainder of the summer had her running up and down the stairs to make sure everything was ready for her arrival.

At the chime of the doorbell, Bridget practically flew out of the living room, where she'd been reading as a way of passing the time, and opened the door with a smile on her face. "Katrina! How's your summer been. And happy belated birthday."

Her father walked up behind her. "It's nice to finally meet you, Katrina. I've heard plenty of good things about you from Bridget. Mrs. Collins is away at work at the moment, but she's looking forward to meet you, too. Can I help you with your bag?"

It had been a long and pretty uneventful summer for Katrina. When it had first began, Katrina was thrilled to spend the days at different homes, thankful to be away from her secret foster parents. The novelty, however, had long faded away. Now it was tiring, making sure that the Thorn's knew she was leaving then assuring them she had the money to get to the airport.
 
It was relatively cheap to take the rickety bus to the airport. Katrina took a seat in the far back corner, avoiding everybody. She felt the presence of her wand hidden in her new teal sweatshirt pocket. It was the only thing that made her feel safe in a vehicle surrounded by strangers. Katrina's small leather trunk rested on her lap, the sparse things inside, occasionally shifting to one side or another when the bus took sharp turns. There was a baby that cried the whole 45 minutes it took to get to the airport.
 
It was huge. Katrina couldn't help but have an internal freak out when she watched a plane emerge from the far side of the building, climbing it's way thousands of feet in the air. She was afraid of heights, and she was going to ride in a plane. Alone. Katrina pushed past the crowds of muggles and got inside the massive airport.
 
The next two hours went by in a hazy blur. The long line to get checked in and then the whole process with her passport since she was still technically in Italy. So many things happened, Katrina forced herself to have a sandwich in the airport so she didn't lose her streak of three meals a day, all the while ignoring the huge airplanes that loomed in the large windows. Her flight number was called and Katrina got into the airplane in a freaked out ball of terror. None of the muggle airplane attendants or other people on the flight even noticed how afraid she was. That was likely because she was so good at hiding it, but still, she hadn't felt so alone.
 
Katrina had a window seat. The instant she looked out of it, she regretted it as even on the ground they were way too many feet off the ground. She shut the plastic cover with a slam startling the young couple taking the other two seats beside her. The entire flight, Katrina was writing in her journal, ignoring everything. It was a long three hour flight considering everything that had happened. She had woken up at six and it was now three in the afternoon.
 
Katrina exited the airplane numb and drained, thankful that her one small trunk had been able to pass for a carry-on. She left the airport and waited for a bus to arrive. Katrina had written down all of the bus numbers to get to Bridget's house, transferring three times without a hitch. The last stop was three blocks from the Collin residence. Katrina left the bus, trunk in hand and onto the sidewalk. It was odd that adults were so involved in their own world that they hardly noticed a young girl doing unusual things.

The walk wasn't hard. The girl had written all the instructions on her journal before she had left the Thorn's. Just a turn here and a little bit there. Katrina hoped that Bridget wouldn't notice how drained she was. It had just been a long day. Then, she was standing in front of their house. It was a nice looking house, pretty cozy looking. It reminded her of her home… or what it used to look like. Katrina stepped up to the door and raised a weary hand to ring the doorbell.

At the sight of Bridget's smiling face on the other side of the door, her tiredness faded away. Bridget looked like she had been waiting to see her all summer, which, to be frank, could be true. Katrina felt her lips turning up in a smile.

"Hey Bridget. My summer's been good," Katrina chuckled nervously before adding, "Oh, yeah, my birthday, thanks,"

Bridget's father, Mr. Collins made a comment about hearing a lot of good things about her and Katrina shuffled her feet, a bit uncomfortable being the center of attention. He offered to take her bag and Katrina smiled and held her trunk up for him to take. "Thank you Mr. Collins," Katrina added a bit bashfully. She had never been that great with adults. She had improved some, but not that much.

Bridget gestured her in, and Katrina smiled shrugging off her semi-new shoes, and following Bridget's extended arm to a couch. Katrina immediately sunk into the cushions, having gone through the first entrance to a house too many times this summer to care about being incredibly polite.

"I have decided that I officially hate airplanes," Katrina sighed, "From being around a bunch of strangers in the same tin can trusting non magical means of transportation to being literally thousands of feet in the air. Its really not all that great," Katrina forced a laugh, realizing that she was not being the cordial guest that she should be. She casually sat up, fixing her posture, wincing as her wand dug into her stomach.

"So, how has your summer been?" Katrina offered a smile, again realizing that she hadn't been very polite so far. It was just so nice being with her friend again. It was comfortable, familiar. It was looking like it would be a nice next two weeks.

August 19th
New House
Interacting with @Katrina Walker

Bridget's father accepted Katrina's handed-over trunk, and with a short nod, disappeared up the stairs to leave it in the room they'd be sharing. As she followed her friend into the living room, she noted it didn't look like he'd be coming back. That was nice; she imagined it would be a little hard to catch up with her friend if he was hanging around. Sitting down on an armchair across from the Gryffindor, she grinned at the redhead's complaint about airplanes. She couldn't exactly agree or disagree with her description, never having flown on one herself. Her extended family had always lived a car ride away, albeit sometimes a rather long one, and the rare vacation entailed a visit to the coast, not a trip to another country. While she quite enjoyed maneuvering a broomstick around, having the control entirely in your own hands was a stark contrast to travelling by plane. So, not knowing what else to say, she simply agreed. "That sounds awful."

Katrina asked her how her summer had been, your typical small talk. Ordinarily she disliked such pleasantries, but at least with friends in involved a genuine care for the answer. "It's been well. A nice break from the pace of Hogwarts, although I was getting a little bored." With Katrina here, she would no longer have to deal with grasping for things to do, for some way to pass the time. She could only read so many books, after all, and while she enjoyed her alone time, she did need someone to talk to now and then besides her siblings.

Shifting her weight, Bridget leaned in so she wouldn't have to speak above a whisper for Katrina to hear her. "Just so you know, try to avoid any mention of the... bad things that have been happening. I had to tell them about this," she gestured to her black veins, "but they don't know about the rest of it." Katrina was smart enough to figure out the why without an explanation, and anyways, there wasn't time to give one as Ellie came pounding down the stairs. Bridget straightened, knowing Ellie would start asking a barrage of questions if it looked like they were having a secret conversation. The eleven-year-old perched herself on the arm of Bridget's chair, and then the talking started.

"Nice to meet you Katrina, or can I call you Kat? I'm Ellie, welcome to our new house. Are you a witch, too? Can I see your wand?" Ellie didn't talk fast, but she didn't leave any room for interjection while she rattled off her questions. She wasn't a little kid anymore, though, and instead of wide-eyed excitement, her expression was practically unreadable. Bridget and Matthew were probably to blame for her learning how to do that. Ellie's smile was pleasant enough, but from Bridget's proximity, she could see the way her eyes had narrowed ever so slightly as she shifted the topic to magic.

"Ellie, go away. She just got here," Bridget hissed. At this rate, she'd never get more than a few seconds alone with Katrina, which wasn't ideal for hearing about what the other girl had been doing since the conclusion of summer camp.

"Not yet. If she's staying in my room, I get to meet her," came Ellie's retort. With a sigh, Bridget slumped back in her chair. It was probably best to let Katrina answer Ellie's questions. Then maybe she'd go away. Maybe.

This was the most comfortable Katrina had been all summer. It wasn't that the other people she had stayed with had been anything but cordial hosts, but being in a muggle home with her best friend already started off the next two weeks on a particularly high note. The stresses of the long day faded away and Katrina warmed up to her new home. It was cozy and lived in, she had sort of expected Bridget's home to be like this, it reminded her so much of her own.

Bridget admitted that she had been a bit bored and Katrina nodded, "Yeah, I get that. There's only so much reading one person can handle," A joking laugh surprised Katrina as it came out. It had been a long while since she had laughed. The tone of the conversation shifted as Bridget leaned in to talk quieter.

Katrina gave a short nod, understanding completely. If her parents were still alive, there was no way that she would bring up any danger. Hogwarts had become such a home to her after all. Simply thinking about the dangers had Katrina pulling down the sleeve of her new teal sweater, hiding the faded white scar on her inner arm. There was no way that Katrina was going to bring up a sensitive topic with anyone after all, but Katrina understood the motive.

Just as Katrina was about to comment on it, when a girl a few years younger than them came rushing down the stairs. There was a barrage of questions and it took Katrina way too long to recognize familiar dark hair the fact that she was Bridget's younger sister. Ellie, according to her introduction. It took Katrina a moment to compose her thoughts and answer the questions, the time that Bridget attempted to shoo her away, "Um, Kat is fine. Thank you for the welcome. Yes, I am a witch," Katrina dug in her sweatshirt pocket for the familiar chestnut stick, "And this, is my wand. Anything else?" Katrina's tone was patient, she was able to hide the bit of annoyance that wanted to slip through. Dealing with people younger than her who weren't her brother tended to not go as well. Hopefully her answers would be enough to satisfy Bridget's sibling.

Interacting with @Katrina Walker

Katrina handled Ellie's questioning far better than Bridget would have, although she supposed the fact Ellie wasn't Katrina's sister who'd spent a good portion of her life tugging on her hair and generally pushing her buttons helped. She didn't know why Ellie felt the need to give Katrina a nickname, but at least it didn't seem to bother the redhead. Something flickered in the younger girl's gaze when Katrina pulled out her wand--jealousy, perhaps?--but it was quickly hidden behind a smile. "No, that's all." Just like that, Ellie disappeared back up the stairs. That was a surprise; Bridget had been settling in for a longer encounter full of many futile efforts to get her little sister to go away.

Turning back to her friend, she sighed. "Sorry about that." Katrina probably understood, but it wasn't a topic Bridget wanted to dwell on. It would be cruel to remind Katrina of her deceased brother. Instead, she switched the topic of conversation. "So... what electives do you plan on taking this year?"

It was nice having time to catch up with her friend. They were both taking Care of Magical Creatures and Divination, so perhaps they'd be in class together, although it really depended since they were in different Houses. Katrina was much more enthusiastic about the former than Bridget, which she was glad to hear. Neither of them seemed to feel very strongly about Divination either way; Katrina went rather quiet at the mention of the subject, so perhaps they were both only taking it for the slim chance it did work and was useful. She figured neither of them could pass up the possibility of knowing about the disasters that kept striking before they happened. Bridget would also be taking Ancient Runes. The brunette wasn't entirely sure where she would fit that into her already hectic schedule, but it sounded much too interesting to not take. Unsurprisingly, neither of them had any plans to take Muggle Studies; they both came from Muggle families, and while perhaps the class would provide an interesting perspective of the life they'd grown up with, there was still the issue of not having enough time.

The day passed by rather quickly. Maybe time really did fly when you were having fun. Bridget's mother came home from work, and despite clearly having had a busy day, wasted no time in making sure Katrina had everything she needed. That evening, they celebrated Katrina's birthday with the cake they'd made, and while it was a little late and nowhere near what she might have once had with her family, it hopefully brought Katrina some sense of happiness and normalcy.

Their two weeks together were filled with as much conversation as the two naturally quieter girls were comfortable with and time spent enjoying the outdoors. With the new school year fast approaching, they went to Diagon Alley together to buy whatever materials they needed and even enjoyed some ice cream, soaking the wizarding community in after being separate from it for several weeks.

Finally, it was time to go back to Hogwarts again and Bridget's family drove them both to the train station. Bridget couldn't decide whether to feel happy or nervous to be returning to the castle, but at any rate, she'd missed it. A new year was ahead of them, a year filled with learning and friends and change and quite possibly dangers. Still, no matter what, she knew they would face all of it together.

This marks the end of the thread.