Yes, I'm sure that several of you are mad at me for keeping it H/H this long. On the other hand, I'm sure that several of you are quite pleased that it has stayed H/H this long. But both of you different shippers, please wait this *entire* story out! It's going to make a lot of different twists and turns, eventually landing at what each of you wants. So please, just hold on until the end!! I promise it'll be worth your while!


"I've got to go to tutoring again tonight," explained Harry that Monday. "We can't go out. I'm sorry."

"Tutoring again?" asked Hermione. "Didn't you learn enough?"

"I guess Flitwick doesn't think so," shrugged Harry.

"So can we change our plans to tomorrow?" Hermione inquired.

"Sure Hermi," Harry said. "Do you forgive me?"

"I guess," she said, leaning over to kiss him.

"Oh, wait!" Harry cried suddenly. "Tomorrow doesn't work, either. I've got Quidditch practice." He stopped at Hermione's displeased look. "You do want Gryffindor to win, don't you?"

"I'd rather have you than some dumb trophy," she said unhappily. "But if you have to......" she trailed off. "I guess we could get together the day after that."

"Nope, I've got to work on Snape's essay," Harry replied instantly.

"Thursday?" asked Hermione hopefully.

"No." Harry shook his head. "Quidditch practice. But I can guarantee that Friday is free."

"Okay, so Friday it is," said Hermione. "But don't back out on me."

~*~
"Bye, guys," said Ginny to her friends at dinner that night. "I'll be up around eight."

"We'll save a game of Exploding Snap for you," Jewel reassured as Ginny left.

~*~
"Time for me to go!" Harry said suddenly, pulling back from Hermione and looking at his watch. "I'm already late!" He jumped up from the table and sprinted out of the Hall, heading up the steps in bounds.

"I'm....sorry......lost track......of time......" His speech was interrupted by his heavy breathing.

"I never want you to be late again, Potter," said Flitwick sternly. "But for just this time, I'll let it pass. Your tutor is already ready for you, so don't keep her waiting any longer." He turned and walked out of the classroom.

~*~
I wonder why he's so late, thought Ginny as Harry rushed inside the room. After talking briefly with Flitwick, she saw him head toward her.

"Hey, Harry," Ginny said as he sat down. "We've got a lot of stuff to cover today, so it'd be best if we could get started right away."

"Sorry I was late," he apologized. "I was talking with Hermione, and, er.....I sorta lost track of time."

I should've know, Ginny told herself. He's always with Hermione.

"That's okay," said Ginny, brushing it away. "It was only a few minutes, anyways." She brushed a loose piece of hair out of her face. "The main thing that we'll focusing on tonight is reversal charms, or the charms that can be used to undo something. There are lots of different kinds of reversal charms, but we'll start on the basics and get to the harder stuff later." She flipped the book open to the appropriate page. "Let's begin with undoing........how about the beauty charms that we worked on last week?"

"Fine with me," said Harry.

"Okay. First off, you need to do the beauty charm, so this can be something of a review from last time. Why don't you try turning that desk over there into a rose bush?" she suggested.

"Sure." Harry gripped his wand carefully, and pointing at the desk, shouted, "Rhissyb!"

The desk shook for a minute, and then, ever so slightly, the legs began to grow and weave around each other, turning green, and sprouted new leaves, every so often turning out a magnificent, blood red rose.

"Nice job," Ginny praised after it had completed the transformation. "But how should you turn it back when you don't want it any more? That's what we're going to be learning today. Now if you'll just hold you're wand like this......"

~*~
Harry watched with increasing interest as Ginny showed him how to undo all of the spells that they had gone over the last time they met.

"You're really getting the hang of it now," said Ginny after he successfully reversed his fifth charm.

"Thanks," he said, glancing at his watch. "It's time to go." The great clock in the hallway backed him up by counting off the hours gladly--BONG! Bong! BONG! Bong! BONG! Bong! BONG! Bong!

"That's good, because I was about to run out of things to cover," laughed Ginny as she picked up the books that they had been using, and the two walked out of the class together.

~*~
"Finally, a night alone," sighed Hermione that Friday as she sat down opposite Harry in the Three Broomsticks.

"Yeah, well sorry about yesterday, and the day before, and the day before, and the day before," Harry apologized. Hermione giggled.

"It's okay, as long as nothing can interrupt us now," she said, reaching across the table and grasping his hand, sipping slowly on her butterbeer.

"Why don't we take our drinks and go for a walk?" she suggested suddenly. "I'm sure we could find a nice....more private place to finish them."

Together, Harry and Hermione headed out to one of the many parks of Hogsmeade.

~*~
Ginny slid back in her seat in the booth of the Three Broomsticks. She had just seen Harry and Hermione.

Just give it up, Gin, she tried to tell herself. You haven't got a chance, anyway It was just a childish crush, and nothing more.

"Are you ready to go, Ginny?" ask Colin, who was sitting beside her in the booth.

"Yeah, I'm done," she smiled, and got up with him.

Joking and laughing, the two left and headed back up to Hogwarts.

~*~
"I'm sorry Hermione," Harry said for the third week in a row. "But I've got plans for this entire week. There's nothing I can do about it."

"But you promised that we could go this Friday!" wailed Hermione.

"Something came up," he told her, taking her hands into his. "You understand, right?" He looked up into her eyes pleadingly.

"Yes, I understand," Hermione said, defeated. "I guess I'll see you at dinner."

~*~
"So do you think that would be okay?" Ginny asked Professor Flitwick.

"It sounds like a marvelous idea! I'll go talk to Minerva right now and have her keep all of the Gryffindor's out of the common room while you guys are working."

"Okay, thanks, Professor!" Ginny said gratefully.

~*~
"Where are all the books?" Harry asked as he walked into Professor Flitwick's classroom that afternoon.

"We're not going to be using them today," said Ginny. "We're going to have our lesson in the common room today, and all we'll need is our wands."

Curiously, Harry followed Ginny upstairs and through the portrait hole.

"So, um, what exactly are we doing?" inquired Harry.

"I guess you could say that today's lesson is going to be something of a review of everything we've done so far," she explained. "We're going to decorate the common room for Christmas. That way you can use all of the different charms we've gone over, as well as the reversal charms if you want to change anything. If you need any help, feel free to ask me. Does that sound good to you?"

"Yeah, I guess so," said Harry, pulling out his wand. "So let's see...what to do first?" He rolled up his sleeves, and said, "Girts Rilleg!" causing red and green striped ribbon to come shooting out of his wand and all along where the ceiling and wall met, drooping slightly in between.

"Good job," Ginny congratulated him, and added a garland of silver onto the ends.

Soon the two were working together smoothly, Harry starting something, and Ginny adding the final touches to it. Before long, the whole room looked like it had been hit by a hurricane that stopped by a party store first.

"Well, I think that's about it," said Ginny, flopping back onto the couch. "I looks very nice," she added. "I suppose it'd be best if we went and got everybody now."

"Sure," agreed Harry, heading out the portrait hole. "Oh, wait, one more thing." He took his wand out again and added a sprig of mistletoe to each of the doorways in the room.

"Always the romantic," sighed Ginny, giggling, as she followed him out of the room.

~*~
"This is what you missed our date for?" Hermione complained.

"You don't think it looks nice?" Harry asked.

"Oh, it's lovely, you did a fantastic job," Hermione said. "But-"

"Yeah, Ginny's a good teacher," interrupted Harry.

"This is part of the problem! Once we do get some time alone, you go off talking about Quidditch, or something you did with the guys, or what you experimented with with Ginny, or...." she trailed off. "You're too detached."

"I'm detached because I have a life?" he asked incredulously. "Maybe Ron was right."

"Now don't bring Ron into this, or anybody else, either!" she said. "This is between you and me."

"So what exactly is between you and me?" Harry inquired, standing up.

"Well I'm not so sure anymore," said Hermione, standing up as well. She followed Harry as he led her over to the doorway leading to the dorms. Right under the mistletoe.

"Is this is?" he asked, leaning over and kissing her softly.

"Don't do that!" she cried shrilly. "We're through. Now just leave me alone!" With that, she stomped up the stairs to her room.


A/N Okay, so I'm sure several of you are now like, "So this will be when Harry falls madly in love with Ginny." Well, I laugh at you. Because you're wrong. But I'm not telling you what will happen, so you'll have to stick around for that. I hope you enjoyed!