Chapter Six- Sara: Encounters With a Certified Jackass

Dear Hunter,

It's only been two days, but I miss you terribly already. It's hard to imagine that I won't see you again until next year. I wish that I could see you now and that I could kiss you and tell you how much I love you. Thank you for the necklace. It is beautiful, and I shall cherish it always. Take care, Hunter, and try not to get on Headmistress Mason's nerves. You don't want to spend another year in detention, do you?

Sara

I reread what I'd written before stuffing it into an envelope.

Sitting in the Gryffindor common room with Ron and Hermione (who were busy arguing over the fact that Hermione would not do Ron's homework for him and that he should "learn to apply yourself and not think that others will simply help you pass.") I was waiting for Nikki to get back from her detention with Harry. I glanced at my watch and decided to go and post my letter right then, seeing as how Hermione and Ron's bickering was beginning to get on my nerves. I hurried out of the room and towards the tower where the owls are housed.

Climbing up the stairs to the tower, I was lost in my own thoughts and didn't notice that anyone else was on the stairs until I bumped into a hard body. I quickly caught myself before I could fall down the stairs and looked up into a pair of icy blue eyes. Malfoy.

"Watch where you're going, Mudblood." He spat, glaring down at me. I quickly dropped my eyes and stepped to the side of the stairwell without saying a word. What I really wanted to do, however, was push that slimy git down the stairs after giving him a piece of my mind. But I was too scared, too intimidated, and too non-confrontational to do any of that.

He brushed past me, roughly pushing me against the stone wall as he did so, and continued down the stairs. It wasn't until I had secured one of Hogwarts' owls to send off my letter that I noticed the envelope was crumpled from being held inside my tight fist.

> > > > >

September 5, 2004

It's been three days now since we entered Hogwarts. Nikki is doing well here. She's making friends easily and spends most of her time with Harry on the Quidditch field getting ready for the try-outs, which will be tomorrow after classes.

However, I am finding it much more difficult to settle in here. The classes here are harder, and I'm finding it hard to keep my head above the mountain of homework that I acquire each day. The only person who is taking more classes than I am, is Hermione. But somehow she manages to keep up with her work.

Professor Snape hates me, the Slytherin's make my life a living nightmare, and…and…and I don't know what I'm going to do. I've never had people be so horrible to me.

The one bright spot in my day is Professor McGonagall's class. I've always loved transfiguration and it's what I'm best in. However, Professor McGonagall is teaching things that are progressively ahead of what we were being taught at Salem and it's hard for me to catch up. Luckily I have Hermione on my side. She's always willing to help a "fellow bookworm" out.

> > > > >

It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining, birds singing, and a faint breeze coming off the lake. And I was stuck inside the library working on homework.

The Gryffindor Quidditch try-outs were going on outside, and from my seat by the window I could just make out the field off in the distance. People were flying about on their brooms while, on the ground, the Gryffindor team watched, looking for the best players to fill their open slots. I wish I could have been out there, cheering my friend on, but school, as my parents always say, comes first.

I wasn't alone in the library, though. Hermione had decided to stay behind from the try-outs and work on some of her own work. At least that's what she had said, but it turned out she was helping me catch up in my classes than she was doing her own homework.

I put the final touches on my paper for Professor Flitwick before sighing happily and pushing my school books away from me.

"Finally, I'm done."

Hermione reached for my finished paper and scanned it quickly. Giving a decisive nod she smiled at me.

"Not bad, Sara."

"Really?" I leaned forward in my chair and picked up the long parchment that she had laid back down on the table.

"I wasn't so sure if I got the point across in paragraph thirty-three." I said, my eyes moving over the paper at rapid speed.

"No," she shook her head, wild curls going every which way, "you did perfectly."

"Thanks." I grinned. "I couldn't have done it without you." Glancing out the window I noticed that the try-outs were still going on.

"Hey, you wanna go see if we can watch the last bits of try-outs?" I asked. Hermione nodded and we gathered up our books before heading out.

We had almost made it to the Quidditch field when Malfoy and his cronies- two large boys by the names of Crabbe and Goyle- stepped in our way.

"What do you want, Malfoy?" Hermione's tone was cold and disgusted as she glared at tall blonde haired boy with as much disdain as he was looking at her with. I'd never heard Hermione speak like that, and, I must say, it kinda frightened me.

"Why do you think I'd want anything to do with you, Mudblood." He sneered. Behind him, his two idiotic looking friends chuckled.

The air around us rippled with tension as Hermione and Malfoy continued to stare each other down.

"Hermione, c'mon." I said quietly, tugging at her arm to lead her away from Malfoy and his goons before trouble erupted.

"That's right," Malfoy chuckled viciously, "you mudbloods run away."

I could feel Hermione's arm tense beneath my fingers, but I kept her walking towards the field and wouldn't let her turn back to snarl insults at Malfoy.

"He's such an arse." She said as we walked.

"No, he's a jackass." I said.

"A bastard."

"Son of a bitch."

We continued to badmouth the arrogant Slytherin as we continued down to the field.

> > > > >

September 6, 2004

NIKKI MADE THE TEAM! I can't believe it, Nikki is Gryffindor's newest Chaser! Oh I'm so happy for her.

Hermione and I made it down to the field just in time to see Katie Bell, the team captain, announce who had made the team. When Nikki's name was called she squealed and jumped up and down and hugged me, hugged Hermione, Katie, and anyone else she could get her arms around. She even gave Harry a somewhat awkward, though it was comical for all of us to watch, hug.

I'm so happy for my best friend. But making the Quidditch team means that she won't have much time to spend with me anymore. I know that sounds selfish, but who cares. Nikki is making friends everywhere, and me, I'm just making enemies of Malfoy and his mindless followers. Sometimes I wish I had more courage to say what I wanted to that egotistical, I'm-pureblood-so-that-makes-me-better-than-you jackass.