A/N Chapter seven!

"Who can tell me what the Feverfew potion does?" Slughorn popped a piece of crystallized pineapple into his mouth. "Anyone? Ah yes, please tell us sir."

"The feverfew potion enhances the senses but at the same time distorts them. If a witch slipped it into a wizard's drink he'd be able to smell her perfume and hear things more clearly, but he would also be seeing her as better than she actually is. She may be pretty but under the potion he'd find her down right irresistible."

"Very good Mr. Malfoy, but is this particular brew labeled as a love potion?"

"Pardon sir, but it isn't." Ginny smirked at Draco and continued. "It only makes the drinker's previous emotions stronger. So while it can act as a kind of love potion, it can also make the wizard hate the woman if he had even the vaguest dislike of her. He'd notice all the things he didn't like about her and they'd seem ten times worse than they really are."

"Excellent Miss Weasly!" Slughorn looked immensely pleased. "It seems you and Mr. Malfoy make a rather competent pair." He grinned mischievously. "Which is why when you've completed your potion tomorrow, it has to mature over night, you will each sample it and demonstrate the effects for the whole class."

At first only silence filled the room while Ginny and Draco stared at their teacher in disbelief. Then slowly giggles penetrated the deafening silence until the giggles turned into all out laughter. Above the noise Slughorn called out that they should all begin to work.

"Is he allowed to do that?" Ginny dragged her eyes over to Draco.

"I guess so." He replied faintly. The two continued to sit in silence for a few moments. "I really hope you don't hate me because if you take that potion…well, things could get ugly."

"This is very bad."

"Yeah, I know." The agonizing pause seemed to last forever as the two contemplated their impending doom. For indeed it was impending and indeed it was very, very, very bad.

"Well." Ginny brushed the front of her skirt and started assembling ingredients. "It's going to be bad but it will be worse if we do it wrong."

Draco snapped out of his stupor and nodded. "You're right of course." A few minutes later he laughed. "If only we weren't such smart asses and someone else had answered, it wouldn't be us this was happening to."

Ginny smiled. "Sometimes it's so hard to be blessed with genius."

They laughed and the rest of the class passed comfortably.

"This is a disaster!" Draco paced in front of the fire while Blaise did his homework.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah! Because if Ginny finds out why I'm acting interested in her isn't strictly because I like her, I'm screwed!"

Blaise just grinned. "Calm down, this isn't as big a problem as you think it is."

"It isn't."

"No, it isn't." Blaise set down his quill. "It is true that you are manipulating her." Draco nodded. "But it is also true that you no longer hate her." Again the nod. "So it is true that you are in fact genuinely interested in her as an attractive female." Draco nodded.

"So?"

"So, that means that there's a chance the Feverfew potion will only play up your positive thoughts of her." Draco finally understood, Blaise could see it on his face. "All you have to do is make sure you're focusing on her and her good qualities, not your scheme that concerns her."

"You're brilliant! That's exactly what I have to do." Draco looked much calmer. "This should be easy…"

"Colin."

Colin looked up at Ginny. She was sitting on the floor with her head against the couch looking defeated. "Yeah?"

"What do you think will happen if I take the feverfew potion with Draco's DNA in it?"

"Um, I don't know. You like him right?"

"Well yeah, but I like Harry more."

"You love Harry, you like Malfoy." Colin nodded. "But you know what, Harry's not around so as long as you don't see him while under the potion's influence I think you'll be okay."

"You think so?"

"Yeah, it'll be fine."

Draco and Ginny found themselves awkwardly working side by side over a hot cauldron the next day, patiently awaiting their fate. The first stage of the potion had finished maturing and now only a few steps were required to finish it off.

"Pass the Lace Wings please." Ginny didn't bother to look at Draco as he handed her the requested item. Silence reigned for a few minutes.

"So, are you nervous about the potion?" Draco asked

Ginny scraped the roots she was chopping into the pot. "No, why would I be?"

"I don't know, I was just asking." Draco stirred the pot three times clockwise, and then two times counter clockwise.

"Well, are you nervous?" Ginny quickly glanced at Draco before he responded.

"I'm a little worried about how I'll act under the potion's influence, but I'm sure everything will be fine."

"Oh, okay." They didn't speak at all while they finished working. At length the liquid turned the appropriate shade of dark red and when Slughorn came to check it he was delighted to find that it was absolutely perfect.

"May I have everyone's attention please?" Slughorn addressed the class. "Now if Draco and Ginny would please each take a phial of potion and come to the front of the class, we are ready for the demonstration."

Rather reluctantly they each took a crystal phial and filled it with the warm red liquid. Red for passion, for anger, for blood. Once they reached the front of the classroom they each plucked a strand of hair and added it to their potion, then they switched phials.

'She's pretty, she's funny, she's really smart, she's interesting, I like talking to her, I like her.' Draco kept repeating these things in his head as he looked into Ginny's soft brown eyes willing her not to see just how nervous he really was.

'He makes me laugh, he's dead sexy, he isn't Harry but he's here and he's more exciting, I actually like him.' Ginny tried to discern an emotion in Draco's gray eyes, but she couldn't see anything.

"Ready?" Draco raised his glass.

"Absolutely." Ginny chinked her glass against his and they both downed it at the same time.

The first thing Draco noticed was that his vision had gone fuzzy. He was just becoming alarmed when all of a sudden everything snapped into sharp focus. All his senses were buzzing with incoming signals. He could smell the most heavenly scent; it was an odd mix of cinnamon, apple blossom, and fresh air. He was very curious as to what was exuding this smell when his eyes fell upon the most gorgeous creature he had ever had the privilege to set eyes on.

She had flaming red hair cascading down her back in shimmering waves, captivating glittery brown eyes, full sensuous lips just slightly parted, and a body to die for. It took Draco a second to realize that the goddess before him was in fact Ginny Weasly.

While Draco was coming to all these startling realizations Ginny was experiencing something a little different. She did find Draco marginally more attractive, but she was having a problem keeping him in focus. Every time she tried to concentrate on him an image of Harry popped into her head. He was on his knees and he was pleading with her not to hurt him. Ginny kept shaking her head to clear the picture.

"Ginny?" Draco asked incredulously. "Wow, you sure do look a lot better than you used to. You're bloody gorgeous in fact; I can barely keep my hands off you." Draco couldn't stop the words pouring from his mouth. "I can't believe I never noticed just how stunning you are, and whatever it is you're wearing, it smells amazing. Wow, oh wow. Do you want to go on a date with me, I mean a real one this time? Do want to go to steady? I'll do anything you ask, please just say yes!"

Ginny stared at him for a moment then broke into a large grin. "Well, I suppose I could go on a date with you. Are you busy tomorrow, tonight? Hmm, this is odd. I'm not sure why I'm so excited about this."

At the beginning of this exchange their classmates just sat in stunned silence, but slowly the laughter started to build. Soon the whole room was in hysterics at the ridiculousness of what was being said.

"I'm free tonight, we could do something." Draco agreed eagerly, he looked like he'd just won the lottery. "That's great, just great. This is amazing, you're amazing. Why, I must be amazing too for managing to get you to agree to go on a date with me!Gee, I can't believe my luck, I can't wait to tell Blaise that everything is—" At just that moment Blaise sprinted to the front of the room and slapped his hand over Draco's mouth.

"I think that's enough, don't you?" Blaise asked Slughorn who wiped a tear from his eye but handed Blaise two antidotes.

"Drink up love birds." Ginny and Draco obediently drank the foul tasting antidote and immediately turned scarlet.

"I can't believe that just happened." Ginny hid her face in her hands.

"I should just kill myself now." Draco looked pleadingly at Blaise.

"Alright you two; why don't you go back to the Common Room or something? I think you deserve to have the rest of the day off." Slughorn pointed to the door and the two best students in the class gratefully slinked out into the corridor.

Ginny couldn't bring herself to look at Draco, it was just too embarrassing. They did however both walk to the front door and go sit beneath the Birch tree by the lake.

She gazed into the blue depths trying to calm her heart; it was practically jumping out of her chest.

Quite some time passed in utter, complete, silence. Finally Draco pulled his eyes up and glanced at Ginny.

"That was pretty bad." He said.

"Yeah, it was." Ginny agreed. They were quiet again for awhile.

"It wasn't all an exaggeration you know." Draco said softly.

"I know." Ginny twiddled her thumbs.

"Well…What do you think of that?"

She raised her eyes to his. "I'm not sure."

"C'mon Gin, under the Feverfew you agreed to go on a date with me again, you wouldn't have done that if you didn't feel something for me."

"Yeah, but I mean, I'm really confused because I'm completely torn. I love Harry, or I used to, oy vey, maybe I still do, but I like you. It feels like I'm betraying them. I'm not sure if I want to do that."

Draco's mind started racing, forming a plan, trying to make this situation work to his advantage. "It wouldn't be a betrayal to go out with me. You and Harry did break up, and they're not around anyways, and technically I'm not one of the bad guys anymore." He carefully controlled his tone and expression, it was imperative that he have complete control over this situation at all times.

Ginny mulled this over. "Give me tonight to think about this. Tomorrow I'll come to your Common Room and I'll have an answer for you."

Draco looked a little discouraged but said, "Okay, I expect good news."

Ginny smiled and left.

A/N And this is about where the plot thickens. Review!