A/N: Sneaky, sneaky me, changing the point of view in this one, too...oh look! A rhyme!

I watched as Ginny spoke to the boy, felt my muscles tensing as I watched him give her a back rub. After a bit, he sat back down and he and Ginny talked a bit more. Then Ginny got up and came back over to me, sitting down with a grin. "I'm making my own friends—happy?" she asked, flicking her hair over her shoulder with one hand.

I looked at her, and then back to the newcomer. "Good for you," I muttered, suddenly disgusted with my food. I dropped my fork with a sneer of disgust and pushed my plate away. "Jolly well good for you." Bloody Gryffindors, I thought angrily, getting up and leaving the Great Hall. As I headed down to my rooms, I heard Ginny behind me, talking to that effing ball of muscle...

"That way is the dungeons and the Potions classroom. Over there is the entrance to Hufflepuff common room and up those stairs is the Astronomy tower, and this way to Gryffindor Tower..."

Her voice trailed off as I turned a corner, and I was glad I didn't have to listen to her give that other...thing...her little speech. With another sneer, I burst into my room, to sit down and pull out a quill and parchment. Few people knew that I had artistic skills. I inked a quick sketch of this damned Gryffindor male, threw a handful of sand over it so it would dry, and transfigured a mirror on the wall into a dartboard. I pinned my drawing onto the dartboard, my last sketch—of Potter—falling to the stone floor. I pulled the darts out of the board, stepped clear across the room, and started to toss them at the board, not even looking at it. Sure enough, every single one had landed in a spot that would have been a deadly blow in real life. I curled my lip and picked up my bag, heading to class.

The next morning proved that I had, once again, lost Ginny to Todd. I watched in disgust as she sat right next to him and glared as they leaned in closer, whispering to each other. I felt a spark of anger as I watched Ginny's cheeks color as she giggled at something Todd said. I just wanted to grab him around the neck and squeeze and—

What in hell was wrong with me?!

I pushed away from the table with disgust and hurried outside toward the Quidditch pitch, wanting nothing more than something to take my mind off of the thought of losing Ginny to someone. It felt irrational to me that I felt that way, that I felt...jealous. Ginny was only a friend, right? Right. I didn't think of her in more than a friendly way, right? Right.

But there was something...wrong with this kid. I wasn't sure what it was, but I was more than positive he was not quite the same as he had been the day before. I could have, possibly, tolerated him the way he was then. He had seemed friendly but distant; today, however, he seemed far friendlier, more willing to let Ginny closer. I couldn't put my finger on it, but there was something really, really, really wrong about this guy. If I was bad, he was the worst.

I was really starting to like this Todd fellow. When he'd come in and sat beside me at breakfast, I'd immediately blushed and found myself tripping over words, in a rush to ask him anything, everything. "Morning," I said, cheerfully. "Sleep well?"

He smiled at me. "Had a bit of a wonky dream, but otherwise, yeah," he replied, helping himself to breakfast.

My smile faded slightly. Wonky...that was a British expression if I'd ever heard one. And he was American...why would he be using British expressions? It was all very confusing. But then I decided that he was merely trying to fit in. After all, he was one of the few American kids at Hogwarts to begin with—combined with the fact that he was new in sixth year, he didn't really seem to have much chance to make friends, except with those willing to go out of their way to meet him. I dismissed the thought from my mind, and picked up the conversation again. "Cool, I guess," I replied, rolling my shoulders slowly, wincing from the slight pain.

"Had a rough one, then?" he asked, still smiling.

"A bit. Had an odd dream, and just couldn't sleep in general." The dream I referred to had been clean and pure, full of brightness and happiness, and a feeling of being weightless and carefree. It had been delightful, but confusing.

His smile turned sympathetic as he looked at me, and again I felt his delightful fingers rubbing my shoulders. He leaned over and whispered, "Tense often?"

I blushed and nodded. "More often than I'd like to be," I admitted, also in a whisper, though I was a bit unsure why we were whispering in the first place.

He merely continued to rub my shoulders with one hand, turning his attention to the food on his plate. I also decided to give breakfast a go, and we sat in relative silence for a while, eating, before I leaned back and wiped my mouth.

"You eat like a bird," said Todd, seeing how little I'd eaten.

I giggled, blushing again. "Can't help it. I got the other end of the thread. See, my youngest brother eats everything, so I eat nothing."

He smiled again. He smiled a lot, I noticed. It was a very genuine, warm smile, welcoming and glad, open and quick. I liked his smile. It was so...calm and cool, and he smiled so often, it made me think of him as a big, cuddly, favorite teddy bear that was always glad to see me.

Spontaneously, I said, "Care to go for a walk?"

He shrugged. "Why not? Hang on." He finished his meal, wiped his hands and mouth, and got up. "Alright."

I grinned at him, took his hand, and pulled him out of the Great Hall, out of the castle, across the grounds, past the lake, into the forest. We climbed a tree and sat together in its sturdy branches. I looked into his eyes, so dark and chocolate-brown, I felt I could get lost in those eyes...I found myself leaning against him, my head atop his shoulder. His arm found its way, naturally, around my shoulders. "It's amazing," I muttered, closing my eyes.

"What is?" he asked, pulling me closer.

"Mmm...I've only known you for about a day, and it feels like I've known you for a lifetime," I said, slowly opening my eyes and turning my head enough for me to be able to look into his dark orbs. I watched them as they seemed to flicker in the dimness of the forest and smiled as he smiled.

"Sometimes that happens," he replied softly, slightly enigmatically. I leaned into him, my smile widening. There was nothing to fear about Todd, I just knew it. He was kind and caring, and willing to help me in any way possible. I could tell. I could just tell.

A/N: I've noticed my chapters are a bit short, but oh well. It'll just prolong the story.

Beta's Note: My apologies for taking so long with this chapter, since it is, after all, all my fault. It's just been sitting in my inbox, looking pretty for about 2 weeks now. So I'm sorry.