Chapter One
Salena Sinclair walked unsteadily down the corridor, her arms held out on both sides, her fingers brushing against the compartment doors as she tried to keep her balance. She saw someone scurrying toward the same compartment she was in, and as she smiled, she quickened her pace to catch up with the boy.
A foot appeared out of nowhere and Salena tripped and toppled to the floor of the moving train. She heard raucous laughter and looked up to see a dark-haired boy, who looked to be a year older than she was, laughing. A girl with brown hair stood by and smirked at the sight of the fallen girl.
"Poor Sally Sinclair tripped," the boy leered. Salena felt around for her glasses; everything in the vicinity was blurry, and she was far-sighted.
"Here," she heard another voice say, and she felt someone slide her glasses into her hand. When the finder of her glasses moved farther away, she recognized the blonde-haired, gray-eyed boy, who she had spotted earlier on the train.
"Go to hell," he ordered the boy and girl, whipping out a wand and holding it threateningly in their faces. "Leave her alone or I'll hex you."
"Come off it, you're a second year. You don't know anything real yet."
The boy's eyebrows jumped up and down in a second. "Are you so sure about that?"
"You're pathetic, Malfoy," the boy snarled, and stalked off with the girl, who had stopped giggling.
Salena, who was still on the floor, looking like an idiot, smiled weakly at Malfoy, who held his hand out to her and smiled back at her.
"Are you all right?" he asked. "Don't listen to those blood-traitor Gryffindors."
Salena took his hand and he pulled her up. Though she had no idea what he meant by "blood traitor", she felt uncomfortable to ask. She looked away from him and pretended to brush off her skirt, putting a lot of concentration on an imaginary bit of dirt.
"Where are you sitting?"
Salena motioned toward the compartment a few feet away.
"Thanks, by the way," she said, when she finally found her voice. "They—those Gryffindors have been teasing me ever since I stepped on this train ."
"Tormenting you, more like. Who are you sitting with?"
Salena moved her shoulders up and down. "Some Gryffindors. They're not bothering me, though."
"Get your stuff, you're sitting with us."
Salena doodled absentmindedly on the edge her parchment while Professor Binns gave them a lecture. Her lavender eyes flickered upward towards the old ghost, then back down at the little hearts she was making on her parchment.
"Hey! Sally!"
Salena ignored the nickname used only by Gryffindors and some Hufflepuffs, continuing to scribble on the parchment.
"Writing to your boyfriend?"
Salena rounded on the speaker, who was a long haired boy sitting behind her. Typical, she thought, as she recognized him to be one of her tormentors.
"Stop bothering me," she snapped.
He leaned over and tried to see what she was drawing. She slid her arm around the parchment protectively, but the boy had sent unwanted attention to her drawing. A girl behind her turned her head slightly and eyed Salena's parchment.
"Hey! Sally!"
She turned around quickly and a piece of balled up paper was flicked at her nose. She scowled and turned back to her desk—but her drawing was gone! Panicking, she checked the person next to her, and sure enough, he had it, and was sniggering at her doodled hearts and the initials "D.M."
"Whose that?" the boy snickered. "Your boyfriend?"
She was thankful that he was thick enough not to know. She shot forward and snatched it from him, ripping her notes on the history of the Ministry of Magic in half. Professor Binns, occupied with his monologue, did not seem to notice the interruption, and continued to drone about the founders of the Ministry of Magic.
She snatched the halves from the boy and stuffed them in her desk, her face flaming while the tormentors sitting around her jeered.
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"People aren't very nice to you, are they?" Luna Lovegood asked distantly, poking the tip of her quill into her mouth and staring up at the ceiling as Moaning Myrtle hovered behind them, giggles escaping her mouth.
"I don't know why," Salena said bitterly, turning the faucet off and wiping her hands on a towel. "I haven't done anything to them."
Luna's wandering eyes settled on Salena. "I haven't either, but still they make fun of me." She straightened her radish earrings in the mirror and firmed her lips, then turned back to Salena and half smiled.
"They call me Loony," she said lightly. "And they take my things. But you shouldn't let it bother you too much. At least you have friends."
Salena thought fleetingly of Malfoy. "Sort of."
"Well, we can be friends. Harry, Neville, Hermione, Ron, and Ginny have problems with you because you're friendly with that Draco Malfoy, but I don't really understand it. There's nothing wrong with being on the good side of people. It just…happens."
"Thanks, Luna."
Luna Lovegood floated out of the bathroom, Salena following closely behind. The two girls made their way out of the bathroom and to the Great Hall, where lunch was being served.
As soon as Luna and Salena were seated, however, Ginny approached Luna, smiling, but then her face hardened at the sight of Salena.
"Oh, hello Sally—Salena," Ginny said coolly, raising her red eyebrows. Salena felt a twinge of jealousy; Ginny was gorgeous and even Draco was slightly attracted to her, though Pansy Parkinson had certainly set her sights—and her claws—on Draco.
"Luna," Ginny said abruptly, turning away from Salena and acting as though she no longer existed. "I wanted to ask you something. Would you come to our table for a minute?"
Luna obeyed, shrugging slightly at Salena, and Ginny sailed past Salena as though she was as much a part of the table as the wood. Salena watched them go to the Gryffindor table and she frowned, then turned back to her chicken, which by now was looking extremely unappetizing.
"Sinclair," she heard a voice bark, and as she turned her heart soared out of her chest and flew up in the sky. The voice belonged to none other than the handsome, blonde-haired boy himself; Draco Malfoy.
"I saw that Weasley girl," Draco growled, glancing over in the direction of Ginny Weasley and Luna Lovegood and giving them both dirty looks. "And how she ignored you. You don't have to sit with that Loony, either. Why don't you sit with me?"
Salena remembered the previous year, when she was a third year and Draco Malfoy a fourth year. He had gone to the Yule Ball with Pansy Parkinson, and though this year they did not seem to be together, Salena was still unsure if she wanted to provoke Pansy.
"I—" she began, looking over at Luna Lovegood again. Ginny and Luna were both watching her and Malfoy. Salena's pale ears turned pink and she got up, looking defiantly at the two girls before turning to Malfoy.
"Sure."
Malfoy turned around and stalked up the path, then turned to the Slytherin table. Salena spotted Pansy Parkinson waving furiously at Malfoy, but Salena's heart surged again when he ignored her and chose a spot at the very end of the table, away from most of his friends.
Salena could not help but notice that the students in the house of Slytherin did look rather unpleasant; most of them were sneering at her or at each other, some chuckling rather menacingly, others simply looking unpleasant. Malfoy took a sip of water from a cup and said, "Your name is Salena, isn't it?"
Salena nodded, pursing her lips, rubbing her fingers nervously over her robes surreptitiously under the table. His light gray eyes surveyed her curiously, and he set his cup down and his eyebrows narrowed slightly as he said, "I can't remember how I met you."
Salena blushed and started hastily, "Well, when I was a first year a Gryffindor tripped me and…and…well, uh…you made him go away."
A grin unfurled on his face. "Oh, yeah. I remember now. You had glasses then. What happened to those?"
Salena glanced at the staff table and couldn't help noticing how Professor Snape was watching them. Unnerved, she looked quickly back at Draco and said, "I got contacts."
He nodded slowly, staring into his eyes as he took another drink. He was not eating. The way he was staring straight into her eyes made her feel vaguely uncomfortable, though at the same time, rather flattered.
"Your eyes are an interesting color," he remarked, breaking the silence. Salena choked on her own saliva and coughed, her cheeks coloring again.
"Is that…a good thing?"
He was definitely smiling now. "I like the color. It's exotic. It makes you seem more interesting."
Salena shrugged, twisting a chestnut curl of hers self-consciously on her finger. A smile was forming on her light pink lips and she cocked her head a little and raised a thin, dark eyebrow.
"I guess I'm not interesting enough without the color of my eyes," she said, in a tone she had never heard herself use before. How could she possibly explain the manner in which she was speaking and acting to Draco? Playful? Just a little bit. Too interested? Most likely. Seductive? Definitely.
"You used to look different," Draco said calmly, picking up a sprig of peppermint and chewing on it. "You were plainer when I first met you. You got prettier."
Did he really just say that? Salena preened, extremely flattered. Thank god for those perfect hair-curlers, she thought. She had purchased them at a beauty shop for witches and they were simply working magic on her hair.
After lunch, Slytherins and Ravenclaws had Divination together. Draco usually sat with Crabbe or Goyle, or even Zabini on occasion, though in that class, Draco unexpectedly took a seat across from Salena, who sat there for a full five minutes, ogling at him while he grinned, trying to absorb everything.
Professor Trelawney, rather indisposed ever since the episode with Professor Umbridge and Firenze, set them the task of reading the crystal ball (yet again), while she wandered between the tables and mumbled to herself darkly.
Salena gained control of her emotions and assumed an amused face as she folded her hands on the table and looked down into the crystal ball.
"I see…death," she hissed threateningly, showing her teeth. He covered his mouth to stifle a snort as Professor Trelawney meandered in their direction.
"I see…" he began, Professor Trelawney whooshing past them, still muttering under her breath. "…a bright, happy future with eight kids and a house-elf."
He beamed, settling back in his chair, but Salena only raised an eyebrow and said, "Not funny. At all."
Why am I acting like this? Why do I have to be so obvious?
"Oh no!" Salena cried suddenly, in the process of staring into the crystal ball. She clutched her heart and gasped dramatically. "Oh no!" she cried again, her voice going higher, and her eyes bugged out of her skull as she pressed her face up against the ball. "The end is looming near! I see it, a path of light with darkness at the end. Your tunnel of life is finishing soon, Draco!"
Malfoy guffawed at the affected behavior, but Professor Trelawney appeared suddenly at Salena's side, while nearly the whole class was watching, and bent close to her and said, "My dear, I believe you are a Seer!"
Salena attempted to keep a straight face and nodded as earnestly as humanly possible. "Yes, Professor. I believe I felt a tingling in my toes…"
They both stumbled down the stairs, bawling with laughter, both faces red from lack of normal inhalation.
"Tingling in your toes!" Draco howled, clutching his satchel against his stomach and doubling over, laughing hysterically. "My tunnel of life is ending soon!"
They continued to laugh all the way down the stairs, until they reached their next class, where they stopped outside the classroom door, snorting.
"We're having Charms together too, aren't we?" Salena asked, reaching for the door handle.
"Unfortunately not, but would you meet me after classes, right before dinner? Let me see…in front of the library?"
Salena nodded. "Okay," she said, covering her mouth again. "I can't believe she actually thought that I was Seeing…"
"It's ludicrous," Draco snorted.
"See you later, then," Salena said, waving at him. "I'm probably late."
Somehow, it set them off laughing again, and when Draco finally departed, she could still hear random outbursts of laughter from around the corner. Salena took a few deep breaths—He said unfortunately not that we aren't in Charms together!—and then entered her classroom, where she was, in fact, extremely late, and received the most severe scolding a very short man can give to someone who towers above him.