Hey y'all, butterflykisses here. Jmac and I want to thank all of you who have reviewed the story so far. You guys rock! Thanks for all your support and encouragment, we both appreciate it very much. Now, as a thank you for all your reviews, here is the next chapter.

Chapter Sixteen- Sara: Wayward Thoughts

October 10, 2004

Things have righted themselves between Nik and I. And for that I'm glad. I don't know what I'd do without her. I'd probably go crazy.

I haven't seen Malfoy lately- yet another thing I'm grateful for- except for in class. He hasn't made good on his threat yet, and I'm not looking forward to the day that he does.

In order to protect myself from him, I've decided to always be with someone else. I'm never alone anymore except for when I'm safely inside the Common room. It's not a very pleasant way to live, but at least it keeps me safe from that blonde git.

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Professor Snape was making his rounds through the classroom, staring us all down and making us nervous as we tried to brew our potions. I did my best to block out his menacing stare and concentrate on the recipe, but it was kinda hard to do with him breathing down my neck. Not to mention, Malfoy sat in front of me, every once in awhile turning around to glare in my direction.

"Is there a problem, Miss Kendal?" I jumped at the sound of Snape's voice. I hadn't realized that I'd been staring at the back of Malfoy's head.

"N…no sir." I stuttered, quickly focusing my gaze on the bubbling cauldron before me. Beside me Nik snickered.

"What are you laughing about?" I whispered.

"I've never seen you stare off into space like that, let alone be reprimanded by a teacher." Nikki whispered back. I stuck my tongue out at her.

"Very mature." She said, before quickly sticking her tongue out at me.

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I found myself, over the days, spacing out more and more. And every time I did, I found myself thinking of Malfoy. Why, I had no clue. But it was frightening me that I even dared to think of him. His blue eyes were becoming ever-present in my dreams. And every time I closed my eyes at night, those beautiful, cold eyes were staring back at me.

I didn't dare to tell Nikki about these dreams. No way. I didn't want her jumping down my throat for dreaming about him. She would have read way too much into it. And I just didn't need that kind of drama, especially when we were still working on strengthening our friendship.

So, instead, I did my best to battle the thoughts on my own. Big mistake.

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October 30, 2004

It's the day before Halloween. Oh I'm so excited. I just love Halloween. It's like my favorite of all the holidays. Especially now, since we're going off to Hogsmeade today! Ooh, it's gonna be so much fun. I can't wait to spend money on the terrific sweets in Honeydukes. Yum. Haha.

Oh, I gotta go, Nik's calling me down to the Common Room. Says if I don't get my buns down there soon she's gonna come up here and…hmm…silence. Me thinks that Harry has found a way to shut her up. But still, his lips can only keep hers occupied for so long. So I best say good-bye for now. Ooh, this is gonna be fun.

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It was Halloween, one of my all-time favorite days of the year aside from Christmas and my birthday. The trip to Hogsmeade had been a blast. There was so much stuff to do there, so many places to go. Harry, Ron, and Hermione had shown us all their favorite places, and had taken us past the Shrieking Shack; a run down old house that is said to be haunted- the three of them tried to convince Nik and I that they'd been inside, but we didn't believe them for a second.

We were all gathered in the Great Hall, ready to begin the big Halloween feast that Hogwarts had planned. The Hall was decorated with floating pumpkins and candles and the enchanted ceiling showed a dark and gloomy sky full of clouds with only the slightest hint of a full moon showing through. All in all, it was the most perfect spooky atmosphere.

As I child I used to love to dress up and go trick-or-treating. I still love to do it, only the wizarding community celebrates Halloween a bit different from Muggles. It was a bit disappointing when I learned that my first year at Salem, but I soon got over it and learned to enjoy the wizarding way of celebrating Halloween. Sometimes, though, I still longed to dream up a costume and create it.

But I digress from the story.

The gang was all seated around the table, us girls on one side and the boys on the other. We listened as Dumbledore gave a speech about the holiday and what it meant to the wizarding community. Then, at the end of his speech, the best part of the night came: The feast. And what a feast it was. Food of every kind appeared on our table. I could hardly decide what to eat first. Ron had no troubles though, he heaped his plate high and stuffed as much in his mouth as he could, refilling his plate after every two bites or so. I was locked in a heated discussion with Hermione over the correct pronunciation of an enchantment when I felt it. It was that tingle that goes down your spine, that feeling of the hairs sticking up on the back of your neck when you feel as if someone is watching you. Or, as Nik would put it, my Spidey senses were tingling. I cast a quick glance around the room out of the corner of my eye. I didn't see anyone looking at me. Then I remembered, my back was to the Slytherin table.

Oh crap, I thought. Now I'm gonna have to look over my shoulder and everyone's gonna think that I'm checking out one of those slimy Slytherines.

I grimaced slightly.

"Sara, you alright?" Nik asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I nodded quickly, then sighed. "Actually, I'm not. I feel like someone's watching me."

"What? Why do you think that?" Nik asked.

"You know that feeling you get?" I asked her, not exactly sure how to explain.

"Ooh, like Spidey senses?" See, I knew she would say that. Do I know my best friend or what?

"Yeah, like that." I replied. "Hey, could you do me a favor?"

"Totally."

"Could you glance at the Slytherin table and see if anyone's looking at me."

"No problem." Nikki smiled and peeked discreetly over her shoulder, her eyes scanning over the faces of the Slytherines quickly.

"Oh my god." She breathed.

"What?" I swear, I was dying there, waiting to see what she said.

"It's Malfoy. And boy does he looked pissed."

I sighed. I was afraid of that.

"Great," I muttered, "just great."

"What are you two talking about over there?" Harry asked, looking at us curiously.

"Noth-"

"Malfoy's staring at Sara." Nik said, cutting me off. God, I could have strangled her. Did she have to broadcast it all over school? Why didn't she just put it in a Howler for heaven's sake.

Three pairs of eyes flew to the Slytherin table.

"Bloody hell, he is." Ron muttered through a mouth full of food.

"Why do you think he looks so pissed?" Hermione asked, turning back around.

"He's Malfoy," Harry said through gritted teeth, "he always looks like that."

They all started going off on how horrible Malfoy was. I tuned them out, wondering what the blonde git had in mind to do to me. I didn't want to dwell on the subject, but I couldn't help it. I was kinda freaked that he might get fed up with waiting to get me alone and that he might just put a hex on me right there in the Great Hall.

I cast a look over my shoulder and my eyes met Malfoy's. He was glaring daggers right at me, not even bothering to try and hide the fact that it was me he was looking at. There was something horrific in his eyes, something malicious and hateful.

Seeing that I was looking at him, Malfoy smirked evilly. I gulped.

Oh god.

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