A/N: Hope you all like this chapter! Let me know what you think! Review, review, review!

Chapter Seven

Draco stalked back into the castle, his shadow casting a long shape over the cobbled floor. He didn't know why he was so upset. It was just Potter kissing Ginny Weasley. That was the ultimate goal of this whole flying lesson thing anyway. So she could get that four-eyed mongrel. Great Wizards knew why she wanted him in the first place. Geeky, skinny little brat. Not that he cared, Draco told himself, just as he emitted a short, low-throated growl and kicked a nearby suit of armor hard in the knee.

Unfortunately, as Draco had forgotten, the suits of armor at Hogwarts didn't take kindly to being kicked. With a tremendous screech, the suit raised it's ax and brought it down, narrowly missing Draco's left ear. Draco gulped nervously and took off at a full run, fumbling for his wand in his pockets as the armor clanked after him down the hall, still brandishing the ax.

Draco turned a corner and found himself near the abandoned classroom Ginny had found him in a few weeks earlier. Hoping he had lost the armor, he ducked into the room and shut the door behind him. He heard the armor clank past and sighed in relief.

He crossed the room and pulled aside a tapestry to reveal the wide window seat where he always hid - and jumped as he realized someone was already there.

She looked up, her brown eyes red-rimmed, but unmarred by tears. Draco felt a stab of admiration and…something else, though he couldn't place it.

"What are you doing here?," he asked in a cool tone, still holding the tapestry in his hand, unsure whether he should leave her alone or chase her off.

"What does it look like?," she replied, her voice flat and husky from the tears she must have shed earlier.

"Looks like you're in my place," Draco said, letting go of the tapestry so that they were hidden and slapping the padded seat with his palm. "How'd you find it anyway?"

"I saw you come out from behind here that one time," she replied with a shrug. "I just kind of stumbled into the room." Draco nodded and Ginny moved back into one corner of the window seat and gestured for him to sit down. He hesitated, remembering her harsh words about him out in the courtyard, and then sat down on the other side, his back pressed into the corner between the cold wall and the icy stained glass window. There was a short silence and then Draco cleared his throat. Ginny looked up at him, her eyebrows raised.

"I heard what just happened outside," he finally said.

"What? How?," Ginny gasped, her face growing a bit pale.

"I was passing through the courtyard. Couldn't help but overhear," he mumbled, trying to say it as if he couldn't care less. Which he didn't, he told himself.
"I'm sorry," she said suddenly in a tiny voice.

"For what?," he asked stiffly.

"For what I said."
"Why be sorry? It's true, isn't it?," he questioned. "I mean, there's nothing going on with us. I'm just your flying teacher. Right?"
"Mostly," she finally replied, her brown eyes now staring at the stained glass that rose to the ceiling.

Draco hesitated again. "Only mostly true?"
"I'd say ninety-nine point nine percent true," she said, looking up at him, a slight and surprising smile on her face.

"What about the rest?"

"Well, that's the bit that's not true," she answered promptly.

Draco scowled. "Sarcasm will get you-"

"Everywhere?," she broke in.

"Damn straight," he grumbled. There was another silence between the two of them, but somehow, Draco realized with surprise, it wasn't awkward.

"Anyway, like I said, I'm sorry," Ginny broke in after a moment.

"No hard feelings," Draco shrugged.

"I'm glad," she replied and sounded as if she meant it.

"So…erm…why aren't you with The Iri-Finnigan?," Draco asked, trying to sound as if he were just trying to make conversation.

Ginny's face, which had been temporarily brightened, darkened again. "He dumped me," she finally said bluntly.

Draco raised his eyebrows. "Before your date? Wow…I've got to commend you, Ginny. That is truly pathetic."

"Gee…thanks," she said dryly.

"Much obliged," Draco replied. There was another short silence. "So, if I may ask, why are you so upset? Potter was all over you."

Ginny shrugged and started to twist a strand of her hair around her fingers, a look of frustration on her face. "I'm not happy…," she began, but trailed off. Her eyes rolled up and she slumped in her seat, staring miserably at the ceiling. "I'm not happy because the wanker only did it because he thought that there was something going on with you." She avoided his eyes and continued to stare upwards, her cheeks growing slightly pink.

"Where would he get an absurd idea like that?," Draco asked, hoping he sounded disinterested. "You haven't told anyone about our lessons, have you?"

"No!," Ginny exclaimed, finally looking over at him. "But…erm…I guess you should know that yesterday bloody Hermione followed me outside and saw you grab my arm and erm…me…when I uh-," her voice faltered.

"Kissed me?," Draco said, dragging up some courage. "On the cheek?"

"Erm…yes," Ginny replied. She was looking down at the floor now. "Sorry about that also, by the way. I'm sure you spent a good hour scrubbing your face with scalding hot water."

Draco couldn't keep a small smirk at playing on his lips. Did this girl honestly think that he still hated her? He couldn't help it - he let out a small guffaw, which was followed by a full on burst of laughter. Ginny looked up at him, alarmed. She had never seen him really laugh before. Not like that.

"What?! What's wrong?," she exclaimed. "You did didn't you? Scrub your face? It was for more than an hour, wasn't it?"

This tirade only caused Draco to laugh even more heartily. Her face was a now a flaming red and she had a hurt and somewhat angry look in her eyes. "No…no, Ginny," Draco choked, finally stopping his laughter. "It's just…you got so worked up. Of course I didn't go and scrub my face for an hour with scalding water."

"Really?," she asked in an almost timid voice.

"Fairly tepid water, but only for about fifteen minutes," Draco said with a straight face. Ginny looked unsure of whether or not he was joking and he had to let out another small laugh at that. Damn, it felt good. To just laugh openly. After a moment he heard her own laughter join his and, though neither of them knew what they were really laughing at, the next five minutes were filled with their chuckles.

"Thank you, Draco," Ginny finally said.

Draco looked at her, surprised. "Thank you? For what?"

"For taking my mind off of stuff. Because now," she said with a great sigh, "I have to go back to the common room and face them."

"Are they going to be back from Hogsmeade yet?," Draco asked.

"Hermione wasn't going to go. She told me the other day. And Harry is here too, obviously. But Ron went. So hopefully I can get this all resolved before he gets back," she said. "Merlin knows what would happen if he found out."

She rose from the window seat and started to push the tapestry away, but hesitated and Draco saw her slowly turn back to look at him. She bit her lip as though she was deciding on something and then, quick as a flash, bent down and placed yet another kiss on his cheek. By the time he realized what had happened, she was gone. He rose one palm up to his cheek. He could still feel his skin tingling pleasantly from where her lips had touched it.

"Pull yourself together, stupid," a teeny voice in the back of his head ordered. "She's a Weasley." But to Draco's surprise and utter horrification, he realized that he didn't really care at all.

---

The walk back to Gryffindor Tower was much shorter than Ginny had ever remembered it being. She really didn't want to confront Hermione or Harry, but realized that if she didn't do it now, she probably never would. The Fat Lady looked down at her and Ginny muttered the password before she could ask any questions. The portrait guard was notoriously nosey.

Ginny held her chin up and walked into the common room. If she could kiss Draco Malfoy on the cheek, she could surely do this. She glanced over towards the corner where her brother and his friends always sat and, sure enough, saw Harry and Hermione sitting there, both of them looking rather glum. They looked up as she walked in, the two of them wearing extremely guilty expressions.

"Ginny!," Harry exclaimed, drawing the stares of a few first and second years scattered about the room. "I'm so sorry."

He got out of his chair and walked over to her. Ginny avoided his face. Just looking at those green eyes…those lips…it would all just drive her crazy. "As you should be," she finally muttered.

"I'm sorry also," Hermione said, coming up beside Harry. "I didn't mean to tell him. It just sort of slipped out. And what happened outside with Harry and yourself is my fault. I just…ugh…Ginny, I'm so sorry, but Malfoy is bad news. I thought maybe if you and Harry finally got together-"

"Finally got together?," Ginny asked snidely, breaking into the conversation. She couldn't stand this. Hermione standing there and feigning innocence. Damn Hermione and her self-righteous, do-gooder self. "Hermione, you say it like Harry and I ever had a chance! Harry has never seen me as anything other than his best friend's little sister and I've been stupid for six years pretending it's anything else. So, please don't act like this was just a little push towards a happy ending! Harry doesn't care about me! He never has! And that's fine, it's just that I don't appreciate being made a fool of!" Ginny finished her rant and looked at the two seventh-years, both of whom were staring at her with shocked expressions.

"Ginny, I never intended-," Harry sputtered, seeming to search for words.

Ginny's voice softened, but she still had an angry look in her eyes. "I know you didn't intend to, Harry. But what you did was really messed up. I mean…you know how I felt about you. It's not fair to take advantage of people's emotions like that."

"I…I know…I'm sorry," Harry said again, sounding as though he genuinely meant it that time. "I think I'm going to go lie down." He wandered off towards his dorm room, looking quite despondent, leaving Ginny alone with Hermione and an audience of eleven and twelve-year-olds.

Neither of them said anything for a long moment. "Ginny, I really am sorry. I didn't mean to tell Harry. And I swear that I won't tell Ron. I really do swear."

Ginny studied the older girl's face and realized that she was telling the truth. "Okay," she muttered. "But please, Hermione. Never do anything like that again."

"I…I won't," Hermione replied earnestly, looking as though she was on the verge of tears. There was another long silence and then Hermione finally broke it: "So, did you ever find out where that rose came from?"

Ginny shook her head. "No, but I was going to look at the card again. See if maybe I recognized the handwriting."

She started up towards her dorm and looked over at Hermione who was still standing alone in the middle of the room. She looked forlorn and lost, and as angry as Ginny was, she didn't want to make anyone feel like that. "I could use your expert opinion on the note," she said. "That is, if you don't mind."

A hesitant smile broke out on Hermione's face. "Really?" Ginny nodded and Hermione's face broke into a full smile and she followed Ginny up the stairs to her dorm.

Ginny opened the door to her room and suddenly let out a huge gasp and stopped dead, causing Hermione to crash into her.

"What's wrong?," Hermione exclaimed, looking over Ginny's shoulder. Her eyes centered on what Ginny was looking at and she let out her own gasp. "Ginny…your rose!"

The rose, a small, orange bud the day before, had now blossomed and turned a golden-yellow the tips edged with scarlet. "That…that's not normal is it? Flowers changing like that? I mean…it was orange and tiny yesterday, wasn't it?"

"I think that's a Mystique Rose," Hermione breathed, walking over and looking at it more closely. "They change form and color with how the giver feels towards the recipient."

"What does yellow mean? And why is it red on the tips?," Ginny asked, suddenly very glad that she and Hermione had made up.

"Well…yellow is traditionally for friendship, so it's obviously someone that you must know pretty well," she trailed off. Ginny looked at her, trying to absorb what Hermione was telling her, at the same time looking very disappointed with the fact that it had gone from 'budding desire' to 'friendship' in one day. "But the red edges…Ginny, red tips on a yellow flower means that someone is falling in love." Hermione looked up at her and shook her head slowly. "You really have an admirer. Those roses cost a bundle."
Ginny had picked up the vase where she was keeping the rose and out of curiosity, unfolded the note. It still had the same message and there was nothing distinctive about the handwriting. Disappointed, she set it back down and just stared at it. She truly had no idea who it was from.

Hermione was still staring at the flower and Ginny noticed her move closer to examine it again. "Do you notice how the yellow is very light at the bottom and darker at the top?" Ginny nodded. "Well," Hermione said, "It's wavering. It's almost like the person who sent this isn't sure about what they're feeling for you. I don't know if they even realize how they feel. Are you sure you don't know who it's from?"

Ginny nodded. "No clue," she murmured. "But I have to find out."

A/N: As always, much thanks to all my reviewers: baybe3hflip, nyghthawkwingchild (Thanks for the loooong review. I looooove long reviews! And sorry about the flower color, but not all yellow is bad!), Crystal, Xela, Zuzu, Ginny001, MochaDream, Honey666 (It wasn't REALLY a cliffy….not on purpose anyway ; )), gohansfan, Butterflysky (Your review made me laugh…the little "sorry you bastard" comment had me rolling), Angel Tears, Dreamoftf, mandy, draco'sgirl, Jen, Isadora, Lady Megan, frananddragon, Rainbow Dreamer (I love to answer questions and I'd be more than happy to read your fics, but there are two rainbow dreamers on ff.net - which one are you?), karen, rainmuse, Miah Tolensky, Silver Essence, Corky (It was funny? Well…that's okay!), kristendotcom, Lucifer, ice angel, Missfizz, Ace Of Spades, opal.star, hpangel (thanks for the compliments), tropix, baby-grassie, Simply Bewitching 1, & Baby.

Anyway, hope you all liked this chapter and please REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW and let me know what you think!!!!