Oh man, oh man! This will doubtless take forever to update…Eh…Sorry…

Thanks to: Kikyo Uchiha, mintmelodygirl, Dragon of Twilight, Shashuko the Paisley Maiden, The Crazy Evil Akatsuki Neko, Inner Cameron, multi guy, Shukoru, QueenMeStar, sheenio (twice), Shrimps of Mass Destruction, Haku's No. 1 girl, gs rocks, and natsi.

Question for the Crazy Evil Akatsuki Neko: Do you have two heads? This is what goes on in my head…-sigh-

Fred Black and George Black—that is super awesome. I wish I had a twin to do something like that with. Ha, ha.

Gaara, as we know, was not an emotional person—Emo, he was not.

However, he did understand Meg's grief. Hadn't he felt the same when Yashamaru had died? Of course, Yashamaru had also betrayed him…but we won't talk about that.

McGonagall had tried to send him to class, but Meg had refused to let go of his hand. Currently, McGonagall was explaining what had happened, although Meg wasn't listening.

She was somewhat stuck in a state of shock, and nothing was really sinking in.

"…I hope you understand, they did everything they could for him. Take the day off—don't go to any classes, I'll write a note for your teachers. Mr. Sabaku, perhaps you should—"

"Professor, it doesn't really matter if I go to class. It might be better if I stayed with Meg."

She blinked, flustered. "Very well."

Meg didn't even blink when McGonagall left the common room. She stared blankly into the space McGonagall had previously occupied, silent as the night.

Gaara didn't speak; he waited.

She didn't move from her position next to him, but after several moments of silence, she spoke. "My father and I weren't really close or anything…" Her voice trailed off.

Gaara finished for her. "But he was the last thing you had."

She nodded slowly.

He was silent briefly, but then he said, "You have Hinata…and…you have…me."

She didn't respond at first, but she leaned against him, still holding his hand tightly. "How long…how long will you be here, though? A year, at the most. And there's always that chance…" She looked up into his eyes. "That chance that you'll leave before then," she finished.

His eyes widened a little bit, but he wasn't too surprised—it was normal for Temari to pick up vibes from him, so why not Meg? It was understandable that she might figure out they wouldn't be staying the whole year.

"I know… But for now, that will have to be enough."

Silence engulfed them again, and Meg's face crumpled, tears beginning to run down her face.

Shinobi are emotionless. They didn't get involved with clients, or civilians.

Sucks to that, was Gaara's only thought, as he put his arms around Meg, and she started to cry on his shoulder. (A/N: Possibly the best part of Lord of the Flies—"Sucks to your auntie! Sucks to your As-mar!" On second thought…that was the only good part.)

"Ms. Edwards?"

Patricia looked up at Professor Haku. "Yes, Professor?"

"Would you deliver this note to the Caretaker, Sai?"

"Sure." She went to the front of the room, and took the note from Haku. "Do you know where he might be?"

"I'd check the Great Hall."

"Thanks." She exited the room, and walked to the Great Hall.

As she walked, she thought about Meg.

Meg was a great friend and a blast to have around during Quidditch practice.

When she had dashed from the Hall that morning…the look of stark terror on her face was enough to drive that American muggle TV character Oscar the Grouch to tears.

She ducked her head in sadness and because of this, she didn't see Sai and nearly ran into him.

"Whoa! Watch it, Snowflake."

Embarrassed at her lack of attention, she blushed a light pink. "Sorry," she muttered.

He smirked, and remarked off-handedly, "You're pretty when you blush."

This awakened a weird feeling in her—not quite embarrassment. Her mouth sort of just hung open, and her face turned a bit—well, a lot—redder. "ProfessorHakuwantedmetogiveyouthis," she blurted, thrusting the note into his hand.

He caught the note and raised an eyebrow.

Then all of the sudden, Sai leaned forward, caught her cheek in a single hand, and buried his face in her hair, drawing in the scent of her hair. "Mmmm…Cherries."

She gaped at the shinobi as he drew back.

"It's quite unseemly to stand there with your mouth wide open."

With some effort, she shut her mouth. She pursed her lips. "It's quite unseemly to smirk like that."

"Ooooh, burn."

She grinned wryly, and then realized his hand was still holding her cheek. Her face grew hot again.

He leaned closer again, his face barely an inch away. She felt his breath on her lips, and he moved closer. "Thanks for the note…" His lips brushed against hers as he spoke. Then he stepped back and brushed by her.

Eyes wide, she turned around and stared after him.

She lifted a finger to her lips, and whispered, "What…?"

Sasuke liked hair. He always had. After all, Uchihas were known for their wicked hair styles.

He especially liked Karin's hair.

It was entertaining—short and messy, similar to his own on one side, and long and smooth on the other.

Sitting in Haku's class, he wasn't quite sure why he was thinking about this, but nevertheless, he was.

Truthfully, he decided, he liked Karin in general.

It was a new development, and actually one that wasn't so bad.

When he had first met her, he had decided she was just a stupid fan girl like Ino or Sakura.

Except she knew when to stop.

And maybe that made all the difference.

At the end of class, McGonagall grabbed Harry. "I need to talk to you, Mr. Potter. It involves Meg."

"What about her?"

"It turns out, her mother was Sirius' cousin."

"Really? But…why wasn't she on the tree at Grimmauld Place?"

"She was removed from the family tree because she married a muggle."

"Meg's father?"

"No. He died, and she remarried, to a wizard this time."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because, Meg needs a family. And you're the closest thing."

He looked at her for a long moment. "…Okay."

"Right now, she's in the common room, with Mr. Sabaku. She refused to be parted with him."

"Well…maybe I should let them alone for a while."

McGonagall hesitated. "I suppose you're right. Just…make sure you talk to her."

"Alright, Professor."

Sakura's fingers brushed against Draco's as they reached for the plant in the greenhouse.

She trembled at the slightest touch from him—not out of fear—a weird giddiness that she couldn't help but enjoy.

He had kissed her.

He'd grabbed her hand after they'd left DADA (didn't feel like typing it out) and pulled her into an alcove in the hallway. Then, obviously nervous, he'd pulled her close, and brushed his lips gently against hers. His cheeks flushed scarlet, he drew away, only to be kissed again by Sakura.

She giggled as once again, their fingers bushed.

Draco couldn't help but smirk.

She looked down at the plants, trying to focus on the class. Her hair fell in her eyes, so she flicked it back. It was a real pain running around without her forehead protector to hold back her hair.

But his proximity was disconcerting. There was no way she'd be paying any kind of attention.

Had he been concerned about passing the class—although Sakura wasn't, really—he'd have had the same feeling of disability to concentrate on anything but her.

Of course, he still was unable to concentrate on anything but her. However, as he didn't really care about doing the assignment, it was fine with him.

He ran his fingers through her hair. They were positioned so that Professor Sprouts wouldn't notice things like that.

She turned as pink as her hair.

"Stop iiiiit…" she whined, pretending to be irritated. She was secretly pleased.

"You know you love it."

She couldn't stop the grin that spread across her face. "Shut up."

"I love you."

She hesitated. Should she dive this deep? It seemed too risky…She made up her mind, and didn't respond.

Draco sighed.

"I'm…I'm just not ready for that, yet…" she whispered.

"Will you ever be?"

She turned away, lowering her eyes. "…I…don't know." She was scared that if she confessed her feelings…

It'd be too hard to let him go.

Shinobi are emotionless. They didn't get involved with their clients, or civilians.

This is just like before, she thought. I can't control my emotions. It's just like with Sasuke…only worse…

Instead of going straight to dinner as he normally did, Harry headed up to the common room to see Meg.

As he entered the room, he heard Gaara ask her if she wanted to go get something to eat.

Meg's voice was strangled, but unmistakably hers. "Not if I have to see people."

She and Gaara were sitting on the couch, and she stared into the flames in the fireplace blindly. She was deeply burrowed in Gaara's arms.

Well. He hadn't seen that one coming.

Harry came and sat down on her other side. "If you're hungry, I could get Kreacher to bring us food up here."

Meg jumped, obviously startled by his presence. Subconsciously, she snuggled deeper in Gaara's embrace. "I dunno…"

"You need to eat," Gaara stated calmly.

"M'kay…"

"Kreacher!" Harry called.

Kreacher, the new and improved, smiled. "Hello, master."

"Kreacher, could you please bring us some food? Meg isn't feeling well enough to go downstairs."

"Okay." Kreacher vanished with a crack.

After he returned with food for the three of them, Harry glanced at Meg.

"Meg…" he began, "Today, McGonagall told me about your mother."

Her eyes widened, and she flinched.

"Not about your mother, at least not directly," he amended, "She told me about your mom's family. Did you know, Sirius is your mom's cousin?"

Silence. She stared at him wordlessly, and the only sound was her shallow breaths.

"What does that…mean, exactly?"

"Well, as Sirius was my Godfather, I suppose that makes us…second cousins, twice removed." (Actually, I'm not sure about this, but I think that's what they would be. If anyone knows, please tell me!)

"Oh."

They didn't speak, then, not sure what to say. Okay, we're related…so what? This was the basic thought.

It seemed the bonding would have to wait.

Naruto was picking listlessly at his spaghetti. He looked up slowly, his eyes meeting Sasuke's.

Sasuke was staring at him, seemingly mulling over something. Abruptly, he stood. He walked away, striding down the aisle.

Naruto's eyes returned to his spaghetti. He tried to eat some more.

He looked up suddenly, sensing a presence. Sasuke leaned over the table, glaring into Naruto's eyes.

"Tonight," he said simply. "Tonight…he strikes. I'll be fighting with you."

Sasuke had said 'with'.

The word didn't tell either way whose side he was on.

Was he against them?

Or, as he said, with them?

The warning—was it just so his victory would be so much more sweet? Or was he truly concerned with Harry's safety?

He was left to think this over as Sasuke's silent figure vanished.

Okay. I'm sorry it took so long to upload—you have no idea…

My cat died. This unfortunate occurrence caused me to be depressed for awhile, and thus, I couldn't write.

Though that may sound stupid to you, it isn't to me. Callie has been my 'kitty' my WHOLE LIFE. Seriously, she's been with me since I was a baby.

It's a big deal.

On the bright side, I finally got to read Twilight. It took me two days…I had to go to school between that time, and I finished another book in that time period, too. haha.

It was AWESOME! (Hey, multi guy, Edward does seem kinda hot. rotflol)

So, Coke, Pepsi, or Dr. Pepper? -points to DP hat on head- Go Dr. Pepper! You can't deny it...

Anyway, I didn't listen to any music…how weird.

Is it still good?

R&R, por favor!

IBG out!

Oh, by the way. It might take awhile to update, cuz I'm also writing something else, currently. Apology.