Chapter six: National Pick on Usagi Year

Usagi sat uncomfortably in her seat, unable to relax. Professor McGonagall was discussing the technique of turning a mouse into a pincushion. The sequence was much harder than it seemed to be, and so far, only Hermione knew how to do it without fault.

Yawning, the blonde tried to keep focused on the day's lesson. It was only Tuesday of her third week at Hogwarts, and she already knew it was going to be a horrible year. But at least now she wasn't late to her classes, even though she still hadn't figured out the stair's sequence.

She fell back into her seat, and looked at the clock. Stifling a yawn, Usagi leaned forward, propping her head up with her hands.

Professor McGonagall was worse that Miss Haruna back in Junior High. And Miss Haruna even hated her. Professor McGonagall was old, but very sharp, and never missed a thing. But lately, her mind seemed to be distracted. She had also noted the same in a few other teachers. They all looked worried about something.

Usagi blocked the teacher's words from her mind, and stared blankly at the front of the room.

Since Sunday, nothing had been the same, especially after finding Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ronald Weasley in the Slytherin common room.

It had come to a shock to both Usagi, and Draco. Her lips twitched, wanting to form a smile at the memory of that late afternoon.

~~ "WHAT?!?!"

Something hit the ground with a thud, and a pair of familiar glasses slid across the floor.

"Shhh!!!"

"Shhh, yourself!"

A familiar girl's voice hissed, "Be quiet.they're hear us."

"It's a little late for that!"

Usagi stared at the empty air, and felt faint, with fright. Now she was hearing voices, not just any voices, but ones she recognized as three fifth years from the Gryffindor house.

Draco crouched down, and picked up the glasses. He turned them over in his hand, as he inspected them. A frown formed on his face, as he searched the room for the direction of the three voices.

Usagi glanced at Draco, and noticed he was aware of the voices as well. Sighing in relief, she shifted from where she sat, so that her legs were folded beneath her.

"All right, whose there?" Draco's frown deepened, when only silence answered him.

Usagi scowled, suddenly feeling as if her privacy had been invaded, "You better come out, or I'll.I'll get.um, Professor Snape!" The threat was a worthless effort, since one, professor Snape wouldn't believe her, and two the culprits could leave before she got back.

There was a long sigh from somewhere in the room, and Usagi's heart skipped a beat.

Then suddenly there was a soft sound of fabric rustling together, and then floating in the air, three heads appeared, without their body.

Usagi's eyes bulged, her mouth gaping opened, before she let out a blood- curdling scream that sent her falling over the edge of the bed backwards. Her screams were cut short, when she hit the ground with a thump. There was a pause of silence, till Usagi looked up over the edge of her mattress.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione's heads still floated there, but so did someone's arm, which waved nervously.

Frightened, Usagi let out another piercing scream, which sent all the teachers to the Slytherin room, along with the all of the students, and even the Daily Prophet. ~~

Usagi blinked, snapping herself back to the present. She had been on the front page of the newspaper, and looked ridiculous. A soft smile formed on her face, as she shook her head to clear it.

It hadn't mattered anyway; only she and a few other students had seen that day's paper. Professor, McGonagall, Professor Dumbledore, and Professor Snape had pulled all the papers, and burned them. For what reasons, they wouldn't say.

Sitting up, Usagi forced herself to listen to Professor McGonagall's lecture.

?????

Usagi fidgeted where she stood, unable to stand still. She bit her bottom lip, and gnawed on it, as if it could calm her nerves. She, along with a large group of first years stood outside on Hogwarts grounds. Madam Hooch was their flying teacher, whose intent was to teach them the way of the broom.

The blonde looked around nervously, wondering if she should tell the teacher about her fear of heights. Surely they wouldn't fly on their first day, right?

The class was formed into two lines, that face each other, and there was a broom near their feet. Usagi looked down at the broom, and hoped it would listen to her, like Madam Hooch was lecturing about.

Sighing, Usagi looked around, trying to distract herself from the thought of flying.

It was a clear day, which was a surprise since it was early October, where in England it began to rain by then. The sky was bright blue, the sun golden, and the clouds fluffy white. The breeze was gentle, which was different from October winds in England.

It wasn't until Madam Hooch gave their first instructions, did Usagi blink back to reality.

"All right then, stick your hand out over your broom, and say up." The class watched Madam Hooch perform it first, and the broom came to her hand without hesitation.

Swallowing, Usagi held her right hand out over her broom. Some of the students had already begun to call for their brooms, and even some were getting frustrated when nothing happened.

Licking her dry lips, Usagi called, "Up." there was a brief hesitation that had Usagi almost saying it a second time, when the broom went to her hand. The blonde grasped the broom firmly in her grasp, and felt her heart quicken.

"Good, now watch me." The class looked at Madam Hooch, as she mounted the broom, as if it were a horse. "Now class, your turn."

Usagi slung her leg over the broomstick, and clutched the end with a death grip. Madam Hooch came down between the lines, and corrected a few how to hold the broom. Usagi was told to space her hands, and not to hold too tight.

"You'll only confuse the broomstick, if you hold it like that Miss Tsukino."

Usagi did as ordered, but still couldn't relax.

"Now then, when I blow my whistle, kick up off the ground hard. All I want you to do is rise a few feet, and drop back down." The woman gave each student a stern look.

She then lifted the whistle to her lips, and blew. Usagi shut her eyes, but didn't kick off. She heard everyone around her rise in the air. "Miss Tsukino, kick off!"

The blonde opened her eyes, and felt numb all over. She hated heights, had been afraid of them ever since she could remember. "Come on Oneesan, its fun!"

Usagi looked at her younger brother, to see him rise, and then drop down to the ground as if he had been born to do so.

Usagi nodded, and kicked off hard, and the broom rose. She watched as the ground grew farther and farther away. Her heart leaped into her chest, and she closed her eyes. "Please don't let me fall, please don't let me fall." Tears swarmed her eyes.

It was then, she felt the ground beneath her feet, and she opened her eyes again. She looked up, to see Madam Hooch's satisfied smile.

Usagi let out the breath she hadn't known she had been holding. A smile found its way onto her face. She had actually flown!

?????

~~ "Since I am your tutor, you will do everything I tell you to do. And that includes, every class we have together, you will sit next to me, understand?"

Usagi gritted her teeth, seething inside, but didn't dare speak her anger. She needed a tutor, and only Kami knew how much. 'But why did it have to be Draco Malfoy?'

She pouted, her eyes watering slightly. "Are you listening to me?" Flushing, Usagi looked up at Draco. "Hai Draco san."

The boy smirked, "Good. Then I will see you in Charms class then." With that said, he briskly left her standing outside the Slytherin commons room. ~~

Usagi sighed, as she thought about what Draco had told her only a month ago. The weeks had gone by, so quickly, just like everyone had said they would. It was October now, growing frightening closer to Halloween.

So far, she had done what he asked. She sat with him in Charms, and he actually helped her understand some of what they were learning. She sat with him in Transfiguration, in Defense Against the Dark Arts, and in Arithmancy. In that class, he had actually been a big help, which was a great surprise.

Walking down the hallways towards Potion class, she hugged her book to her chest. In Arithmancy, he showed her another side of him that no one would believe existed. Usagi wondered if maybe it was because Crabbe, Goyle, and Harry Potter weren't in that class with them.

Shrugging, she turned down another hallway. "Well looky here." Usagi stopped, as dread slowly seemed to creep up along her spine, and she turned to see the schools poltergeist, Peeves. She swallowed the forming lump in her throat. "Hello P.Peeves."

The ghost, if you wanted to call him that snickered, "Off to Potions, first year?" Usagi glowered, why does everyone call me first year? Is it national picked on Usagi year?

Peeves snickered beneath his breath, "You're going to be fun to play with." The blonde clenched her teeth, when they began to chatter. Why did he sound so threatening? "I gotta go Peeves."

She turned from him, and started for class. But even as she reached her Potion's class door, she could still hear Peeves laughter, and the chill that had settling into her heart didn't seize.

?????

Usagi gazed around the room, and spotted Draco near the front. He was staring at her expectantly, and she sighed. She glanced over at the other side of the class, where most of the Gryffindors sat, along with a few Hufflepuffs. Harry, and Hermione sat in front.

She watched as they both looked up at her, and then avert their gaze. The blonde wasn't sure if she should forgive them or not. None of the other Slytherins had, and even Professor Snape had docked fifty points from their house.

Usagi took a seat next to Draco, and set her books on the table. Class was about to begin.

The door to the room swung open, and Professor Snape stalked to the front of the class. "Glad to see you on time Tsukino."

Usagi ducked her head, not in the slight mood to get on his bad side today. Snape stood before the class, looking at each one. "Tsukino I do hope you plan on paying attention in class."

Draco elbowed her in the side, and she snapped her head up, her lips pursed together. "Hai Professor Snape."

The dark haired man nodded, "Good." He walked towards her seat, and leaned slightly over her, so that she was covered in his shadow. "Tell me Tsukino, what is an imphnote?"

Usagi snorted, her eyes widening, and her face flushed. "Uh.I.uh." She gazed about the room, to see other hands raised. She bit her bottom lip, tears clinging to her lashes. Why did he have to make her look like a fool every single day? She had only been here for barely two months, and he expected her to know everything.

Professor Snape's eyes darkened, "Well?"

The blonde dropped her eyes to floor; ready to say she didn't know, when Draco interrupted her. "Professor Snape, she's only a first year. We learned of imphnotes in our third year."

Professor Snape nodded, "I see." He pulled away, and moved to the other side of the room. Usagi watched as from the corner of her eye, as he asked the same question from Neville from the Gryffindor house.

Usagi looked up at Draco, and whispered, "Domo artigato Draco san." The boy scoffed, "I wouldn't be thankful, you owe me a favor now."

Usagi glared at the floor, why did she feel like she was going to owe him a lot of favors this year?

?????

"Miss Tsukino, I would like to speak with you."

Usagi dropped her books back down on the table, and fell back into her seat. She watched as the class filed out of the room. Among them were Harry, Hermione, and Draco.

Sitting back in her seat, she waited as Professor Snape seated himself on the corner of the table she was at. She stared up at him, her heart thumping in her chest. "Hai Professor Snape?"

The dark haired teacher stared at her oddly, his dark eyes assessing her. His arms crossed over his chest, as he asked, "Did you understand today's lesson?"

Usagi glanced at the board, where the notes she had copied from, were still there. "A little Professor Snape." The older man nodded, "Has Malfoy been any help?" This time, he voice turned to annoyance, as he added, "Because if he hasn't."

Afraid she might get her tutor in trouble, she rushed, "Hai Professor Snape. He's helping me." She swallowed, as the teacher's eyes darkened. "Good. Then you're dismissed to lunch."

Usagi nodded, collecting her things, and started out of the classroom. "And Miss Tsukino?"

The blonde girl paused near the door of the classroom, "Hai Professor Snape?" She glanced over her shoulder at him, her face slightly paling.

"I wont tolerate disobedience, especially one from of my own house, am I clear?" Usagi stared at his stern face, and nodded, before she hurried out of the room.

"Usagi?"

The blonde turned at the sound of her name, and she saw Hermione and Harry waiting near the door. "Hi." She looked at them strangely, wondering what they were waiting for. "If you wanted to talk to Professor Snape, he's free, I think." She glanced back at the closed door, and sighed miserably.

Harry shook his head, as he pushed his glasses off the bridge of his nose. "No, actually, Hermione and I, well we wanted."

Hermione snorted, and took a step in front of the dark haired boy. "We're sorry for what happened in the Slytherin commons room. More so me, because it had been my idea to spy on you."

The girl directed her eyes to the floor at her feet, unable to meet Usagi's eyes.

The blonde flashed them a smile, "Its all right. If I were you, I would have probably done the same thing."

Harry stared at her, "You're not mad at us?"

Hermione elbowed him in the side, and whispered something to him. Usagi giggled, "Iie Harry san. I'm not good at holding a grudge." She grinned, which eased the two Gryffindor's anxiety.

"I think that sorting hat made a mistake." Harry stared at her thoughtfully. "You're not like any Slytherin I ever met.

Usagi started down the hallway, with Hermione and Harry at her side. "Hai I know, I make a terrible Slytherin."

Hermione pursed her lips together, as she thought. "Well basically, we pick what house we want to be in. So then you must have picked to be in Slytherin."

Usagi flushed, "Hai, I guess I did, sort of. The hat kind of talked me into it. He said that my parents were in Slytherin."

Curious, Harry asked, "Your parents? They were in Slytherin with Malfoy's dad?"

Usagi shrugged her shoulders, "I don't know. I never met my biological parents. An orphanage took me in when I was an infant. When I was four, the Tsukino's adopted me." She shrugged it off as nothing.

Harry asked, "You never met you parents?" Usagi nodded, "hai, but the Tsukino's might as well have been my real family, since they took care of me." she trailed off at the thought of last year. "Well, until last year."

Frowning, Harry asked, "What happened last year?"

They stopped outside the Great Hall, not ready to break up just yet.

Hermione elbowed him, "Harry, don't be rude!"

The brown haired boy glowered at her, "what was that for?" Usagi faintly smiled, one hand on the doorknob. "They died in a boating accident. My Obason Setsuna took Shingo and me in."

Harry flushed, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring up bad memories."

Usagi forced a smile, as she replied, "Iie Harry san, its all right. We all have a little sadness in our lives, and we all find a way to deal with it."

With that said, she pulled the door open, and slipped into the Great Hall. She moved to her table, as Harry and Hermione joined their house.

Usagi took a seat near the end of the table, ignoring Draco's heated glare. She stared at her plate of food, and sighed lonely. Looking up, she could see Shingo with his group of friends.

She was glad he had hit it off well, but yet deep down she was deeply envious.

~~ Do you think you have what it takes to follow in their footsteps? ~~

The taunting voice of the sorting hat rang through her ears. It sounded mocking as ever, as if testing her still if she was worthy to be a Slytherin, or worthy to be the daughter of her real parents. Usagi clenched her teeth, and nodded head, before she whispered beneath her breath, "Hai." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Okay there is another chapter, hoped you enjoyed it. I know I did, Hehe. Well anyway I just want to say, tyvm for all the great reviews. I'm still trying to figure out where this story is going, so pls be patient with me. (Oh and if you have ideas, pls tell, only Kami knows how much help I need).

Well, lets see is there anything I should add? Um ok how bout a quick little question if any of you can help me out a little bit. But only if you want to, know obligation here. (pls pls help!!!!) Just kidding. hehe

Okay in this story, pretend that Pansy Parkinson is blonde hair blue eyed ok. PLS PLS pretend. When I wrote this I didn't think about what she looks like. In fact I have no idea what she looks like. So pretend, for me PLEASE! If you can, thank you so much. Then I can get on with the next chapter, if not, then I'll have to pull that chapter, and find someone else, and well that could get messy.

Oh yes, for the question. I have two really. Well um would you guys mind if I fly through October to get the first game of Quidditch, or do you want me to write more on that month?

Second question, do any of you know if Slytherin has a female Quidditch player? I looked but I can't tell. Do any of you know, and can tell me; I'd really appreciate it?

Harry/Usagi: 27 Awww poor Harry, finally starts to catch up, only to find Draco leaped ahead of him once more

Draco/Usagi: 33 Still looking hot as ever Draco!!!! You're on fire keep it up. Use that charm!!

Well see you next chapter!!! LP out