Disclaimer: I don't own HP or any of the copyrighted stuff.

A/N: Well, this was a long time coming! I'm still alive and such, just far less active in the fanfiction community than I once was. But I saw Order of the Phoenix on TV the other night, and somehow it got me to thinking about all the stories I'd abandoned… Well, this was the first one I thought of, and then I realized I had all this written and it had never been posted. Rereading it definitely got me in the mood to continue. Haha, let's hope I can still manage to get back into the mindset of an eleven-year-old to keep writing this, huh? ;P

Chapter Ten - Sam Steps In

The Great Hall was always a busy place but at the same time it was also hard to hide. Sitting at the table of your own House made you very easy to find, particularly if you were a tall first year whose best friend happened to be half veela. The shiny silver hair was kind of distinctive.

Sam probably thought of this as she sank down low into her seat, wearing her pointed hat for the first time since the Sorting Ceremony. There was really no way it could hide her entire sheet of long hair but Lyndotia had to admire the effort her friend was putting into trying.

"You might as well give it up," Lyndotia said with a sigh as she stabbed the potatoes on her plate as viciously as if they had killed a beloved pet. "There are only so many Gryffindors and all the first years sit together."

"Oh, I wish he would just leave you alone," Sam said, frowning as she took off the hat and laid it beside her plate. "He always glares at me when you won't talk to him like he thinks I'm telling you to do it. Like anybody could tell you what to do and you listen!"

"Maybe he is," Lyndotia said hopefully as Draco caught her gaze upon coming into the Hall then looked down and averted his eyes. She held her breath as he walked down the center aisle then let out a sigh of relief when he sat down at the Slytherin table. "Good, maybe he finally gets it…"

"Why is he so cruel, anyway?" Sam asked with a shudder. "I didn't even do anything and neither did Neville or Harry or anyone else he bothers…"

"He's not really cruel, I don't think," Lyndotia said slowly, giving up the stabbing of the potatoes to trace designs in the mess with the tines of the fork instead. "He's just kind of… confused…"

Sam frowned. "Lyn, why do you defend him? I thought you didn't agree with your dad and –"

"I will never agree with him!" Lyndotia snapped a little more harshly than she had meant. Upon catching the shocked look on Sam's face, she then sighed and shook her head. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to yell. But he killed my mother, Sam. He probably would have killed me too once Reneey was born and he had an heir with 'better blood.' He's a monster."

"I'm sorry too," Sam said quietly. She was looking down and Lyn got a guilty feeling as she realized that was probably to hide tears. "I just… I don't know…" She frowned then and glanced up, looking confused. "I thought you fancied Kyle...?"

Lyn blinked. "Excuse me?"

"Well, I mean… you kind of act like… you and Draco…"

"What?! No!" Lyn objected, her cheekbones catching fire as she failed to fight off a blush. "I don't even like him half the time, much less fancy him! And who said I fancied Kyle either?!"

Sam looked skeptical but just shook her head and said, "If you say so…"

Thankfully, Hermione chose that moment to sit down, and Lyn raised an eyebrow at her. "So where were you last night?"

"Whatever do you mean?" Hermione asked, but her face gave her away.

Lyn grinned. "I woke up in the middle of the night and your bed was empty. Then you came sneaking back in about half an hour later."

"I was just studying," Hermione excused, but she was focusing too intently on her breakfast to be entirely believable.

"Oh, come on!" Lyn whispered, nudging Hermione's shoulder. "You're like the least likely person in the world to sneak out, and you won't even tell us what it was for?"

Hermione sighed and looked around to make sure no one else was close enough to hear first. "If you must know, Draco Malfoy challenged Harry Potter to a wizard duel and—"

"He what?!" Lyn hissed, and Sam just shot her a look that said plainly, 'I told you so.'

"Oh, it was all a fake," Hermione hissed back. "He told Filch that someone was going to be sneaking out and where, trying to get Harry and Ron in trouble—and me and Neville too, for trying to get them to stay, I might add!"

"What happened?" Sam whispered, her blue eyes wide.

"Well, he chased us all over the castle before… before we got away," Hermione's gaze was suddenly drawn by Harry and Ron approaching the other end of the table, and she stood up abruptly, eyes narrowed angrily. "Excuse me…"

After Hermione was gone, Sam gave Lyn a shrewd look. "Well? Still going to say Malfoy's just misunderstood?"

"No," Lyn growled, pushing her plate away from her after suddenly realizing she was no longer hungry. "Draco Malfoy is a prat and a coward and I'm done making excuses for him."

"Good," Sam said with a nod, but she was looking not at her friend, but over Lyn's shoulder to where Draco had just stopped dead in his tracks. It was clear he had heard Lyn's words, and Sam shot a vindictive smile at him. He just turned on his heel and walked away.

"What are you smiling for?" Lyn asked darkly, looking up just in time to catch Sam's expression.

"Nothing," Sam said, picking up her fork and cutting into a pancake. "Just glad you're not letting pretty boy convince you he's something he's not."