Summary: When Ginny boarded the Hogwarts Express on the first of September, she was surprised to come face-to-face with the last person she expected to see back in school. He was still the same prat she remembered from years before, but now he has a much higher authority than ever before: he was this year's new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Ginny wished this was all a dream, but to her dismay she was stuck with him for an entire school year!

Disclaimer: Once again I don't want to go through all the mumbo-jumbo of having to write this out, so I'm saying this now: NOT MINE!!! I keep on forgetting to add this on to this one: MAIN HP CHARACTERS AREN'T MINE, those other names you don't recognize are mine as well as the plot, and also other stuff that you don't recognize, kapish?

Setting: Ginny's in her 7th year; Draco graduated the year before

PhoenixRae's Notes: THANK YOU! THANK YOU!!! THANK YOU!!!! THANK YOU ALL FOR REVIEWING!!! i enjoyed reading your reviews, especially from the last couple of chapters i posted. i was somewhat keeping my fingers crossed that you guys would like what i wrote in there and i'm sooooo happy that you did!!! :::goes around giving each and every one of you a hug::: again, a million thanks over!!!

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XI. Unwanted Attention

Madam Pomfrey released Ginny from the hospital wing Sunday evening after performing a concealing charm on her bruise. She couldn't guarantee Ginny if her headache would go away soon so the medi-witch gave her a potion to drink to help relieve the pain.

Ginny opted out of dining in the Great Hall that night. She doubt the noise level in there would help lessen her headache. Professor McGonagall was the one who took Ginny from the hospital wing and escorted her into her office. She wanted to talk to her to make sure she was alright and ready to attend classes the next day. Ginny assured her Transfiguration and head of Gryffindor house that she was already feeling better.

"Please, Professor, no special treatments," Ginny begged, "I'll go about my day to day routine as if nothing happened."

"But Ms. Weasley, what just happened to you isn't something that shouldn't be taken lightly," Professor McGonagall pointed out.

"I understand, ma'am, but I'm not an invalid. Madam Pomfrey gave me some potions to take in case I feel headache-y," she explained.

It took Ginny a good hour to convince her teacher that she doesn't need pampering. As soon as she was back in her dorm, the first group of people that greeted her were her teammates. They swarmed her like an army of bees.

"Ginny, are you okay?"

"Does your head still hurt?"

"Are you sure you're allowed out of the infirmary?"

"Don't you need to rest some more?"

Question after worried question was thrown at her as soon as she walked in to the common room. She didn't know who to answer first and she couldn't place who asked what question to her. They were all talking at once she was starting to get a major headache! She knew they were all worried about her, but all these attention she was getting was a bit over the top.

Not waning to be rude, she answered their questions as much as she could. After a good hour had passed she announced she was tired and needed to rest. Her housemates were understanding and bid her goodnight. Twyla and Janelle accompanied her to their room and crowded around her on her bed. Twyla sat on one side and Janelle sat on the other. Both of her friends were looking worried.

"Guys, I'm okay," she insisted, looking from Twyla to Janelle.

"We were just so worried Gin," it was Janelle who spoke first.

"Yeah. None of us were allowed in the hospital wing to see you. Only family and teachers," Twyla pouted.

"Thankfully we saw your brothers before they left and asked them how you were," Janelle paused and took a breath.

"Percy was so worried about you. He didn't want to leave," Twyla informed her, "Even Ron, Harry, and the twins didn't want to go, but Hermione persuaded them eventually."

"She promised to owl them as soon as you regained consciousness," Janelle added.

Ginny listened attentive as her friends recount the events of the last twenty-four hours. Dumbledore announced at breakfast that Ginny had gained consciousness but advised everyone not to disturb her just yet.

"He said all well-wishers must wait until tomorrow to speak with you," Janelle said.

Her two friends quickly put her up to speed with the Derek situation. Apparently he received a howler from his mother during breakfast berating him for what he did.

"And boy could Mrs. Boones scream!" Twyla shivered as she recalled how loud Vivian Boones' voice was.

"It was that loud?" Ginny couldn't believe it. She never met Derek's mother, but in the two months that they went out she received a couple of owls from his mother, and she was a kind, gentle creature...from her letters anyway. "I wish I was there. I would've loved to have seen Derek's face while the howler was yelling at his face," she giggled.

"Ooh, it was priceless!" Janelle giggled, "His face was so red, it almost matched the colour of the famous Weasley hair!" she burst out into a full-out laugh.

Ginny tried to picture in her mind the always cool and always composed Derek Boones turning a deep shade of red. He must have been really embarrassed if his face turned a deep scarlet colour!

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Next day at breakfast Ginny wished she was back in the safety and tranquility of the hospital wing. As soon as she stepped in to the Great Hall almost the entire student body--with the exception of Slytherin of course--came upon her, each inquiring about her condition and asking half a million question at the same time. It nearly took her ten minutes to get to Gryffindor table and sat down with the rest of her housemates. It wasn't only until Dumbledore cleared his throat and addressed the students that they should leave Ginny alone to eat and that they should all do the same as well.

Reluctantly each of her ardent well-wishers bid her farewell for now and went back to their own tables. Some said they would just talk to her in class while some said they would catch up with her later after breakfast.

Ginny hated the attention she was receiving. She was glad, of course, that they were all worried about her. After all what she just suffered through wasn't the type that could easily be ignored. Being hit on the side of the head with a club deliberately was very dangerous; she could've ended up with a concussion and be in a coma for the rest of her life!

In the middle of her breakfast, Ginny risked a quick glance at the staff table and found Draco deep in conversation with Hermione as usual, but this time he looked like he wasn't enjoying what Hermione was saying to him at all. From her vantage point of view she could see Hermione's eyes glinting with pure mirth while Draco's face was like granite. She hadn't seen him since she woke up with him looking down at her in the hospital wing Saturday night. They had a near-kiss encounter once again in the hospital wing, but thanks to Hermione's good timing (or not), nothing happened.

"Hey, Gin, you better stop ogling at Malfoy unless you want to fuel up the rumour mill," Twyla nudged her close friend when she noticed that Ginny's attention was no longer concentrated to her food.

Ginny snapped out of her sudden trance and turned to look at her friend, her forehead knotted into a frown, "What are you talking about, Twyla? What rumours?" she asked.

"Didn't you know?" Colin leaned in closer from across the table from her, obviously he had been eavesdropping on what his friends were talking about.

Now Ginny turned her frowning face at Colin, obviously she didn't know what they were talking about. She knew there was a rumour circulating around Hogwarts about a certain teacher fancying a certain student, but as far as she could remember (before she got hit by that damn club and was rendered unconscious for hours!) nobody was able to prove who the teacher and student was.

"Know what?" she looked around widely between her three friends, Janelle obviously decided to join in on the conversation. "Guys, in case you have forgotten, I wasn't around much over the weekend to know what's going on. And although Janelle and Twyla kept me up to date with what has happened over the last couple of days, I am still not that updated on everything else!"

Colin, Janelle, and Twyla all exchanged worried glances. Janelle and Twyla decided to opted out of telling Ginny that after she was rescued by their Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, the entire school witnessed the affectionate kiss he planted on her forehead--they had no idea how their friend would react. She had been through enough for one weekend, and hearing the news that she and Draco Malfoy suddenly became hot news around school wouldn't help much to hasten her recovery.

"Guys..." Ginny hissed through gritted teeth. Something was amiss or else her friends wouldn't act this strange around her.

Colin, Janelle, and Twyla each looked at each other, asking one another who will tell Ginny what was going on.

"Guys..." Ginny insisted.

"Okay. Ginny, don't freak out, alright?" Janelle was the one with enough guts to tell their friend what has happened since she was knocked unconscious after Saturday's match. Taking a deep, calming breath, she leaned her head closer so only Ginny could hear, "The whole school saw Draco Malfoy kiss you on the forehead. Now the entire student body's speculating if you and him were the nameless student and teacher that was rumoured Friday."

Ginny's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets.

Oh no! she quickly whipped her head at the direction of the staff table where Draco and Hermione were still deep in conversation. Could that be the reason why he looked so glum?

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A/N: alrighty peeps, a very short chappie in comparison to my previous chapters. i'm just in a rush (sorta) to get this out so i could start on the next chapter. anyways, this chapter ain't really exciting much...more like a filler, but anyhow, i'll let you all decide.

Loves-Kiss: thanks for letting me know, and i do try to update as soon as i can

Crystal: *lol* uhm...i dunno how to take it...you liked the slight bit of fluff or you hated it...oh well, here's a short chappie

Beccs: hopefully this chappie is good enough as the previous ones

myobgirly: Harry & Hermione aren't together yet in this fic...I'm working on it, but I'm not sure yet...maybe they'll get together, maybe they're not...I'm not much of a Ron/Hermione shipper for some unknown reason. and Colin's affection for Ginny borders much more on the 'brotherly love' side

AmethystQueen: thanks for liking the portrayal of all of Ginny's friends

sassw14: i sure would love to bring more of Ginny's bros into the story...and i did the best i could to get into Draco's head and give the readers a glimpse into what he was thinking about

happy kid: and here's another chappie

Anyanka: well let's leave Derek's manly bits in tact...for now...and yeah, just make sure that after you're done doing your fun with Draco on that desk, tidy up after yourselves, aight? *lol*

Jade Stellar: the snogging will be coming soon...how soon don't ask me coz i just write whatever so i dunno when i can set the mood for them to actually share a real kiss

slytherin-cool: i got the name "Sonya" from one of the ladies i work with. for some reason i just liked the sound of it and while thinking up names for my OC's, that name just popped inside my head. and Ron will react the same way every time...uhm...I dunno how exactly *lol*

kellyanne: awww...don't hate Hermione for ruining the moment! *lol*

DaRkShAdOwS: it was a 'near kiss' again at the hospital wing while it was Ginny's forehead Draco kiss in chapter 9 and Hermione sure looked giddy about Draco and Ginny getting together...

Kitycat87: well third time's the charm...but we'll still see :::grins:::

Persephonie: glad we agreed that Derek is indeed an idiot...and yeah, I'm trying to get Draco to be more open with his feelings...after all, women likes to see the sensitive side to their men sometimes, right? :::wink, wink::: hehehehe

MYSTIQUE: hahaha, you're right, we can only wish! and it'll take as long as his libido can stand it

charismatic: oooh...cheesecake...haven't had one of those in a while...and yeah, the kiss...well, they'll eventually get down to kissing soon

KeeperOfTheMoon: thank you! I don't think Hermione gives much damn whether Draco & Ginny get together just as long as Draco treats the girl right, right?

Starry: i know the feeling...i hate to wait forever too for an update

cherries: hmm...i'm gonna work real hard so that their first kiss would be something worth remembering...hehehehe

G. Zan: yep, that's the kinda relationship i'm gunning for...hehehehe

Angel Black: patience, my friend, they'll get down to some serious snoggin' in a little while...

MelissaAdams: well this next one is a bit short, but kinda sets up the pace/tone for the next chapters, right? well, it's what i'd like to think so anyway *lol*

Redmeadow: he's a bad boy recovering from being a bad boy...well, not entirely recovering but he's a teacher now and he doesn't want to be the same prick that he was back in his schooldays

wowsergirl: i'm adding more as soon as i possibly can

VirtualFaerie: a Percy and Twyla ship is in the works...well, hehehe, we'll see how that one develops

hypermonkey67: no, please don't write bad reviews or you'll hurt my feelings...uhm...hehehe, or not...well, here's the next chappie!

Jenn: i know exactly what you're talking about, and yes, i know what you mean about living out a fantasy of some sort. too bad i didn't have any good looking teachers back in high school or college. but oh well, i could still dream :::winks:::

SeZzA: no, i don't hate you. how can i? anyhow, the kiss is coming...

Sharlene: don't damn Hermione...she didn't mean to interrupt a very nice moment between Draco & Ginny

Butterflysky: uuh...what did you just write??? :::grins & winks::: and she could've just pulled his head down for a kiss, but she still hasn't regained her strength yet so she just laid there like a vegetable, hehehehe

hasapi: LGO is kinda stuck...well, I'm kinda stuck...i dunno where to go from there so i'm taking a very long break from it. i'll eventually get back to it

Cassandra Sisenta or Krey-Zey: i know they're cute, that's why i wanna keep ya'll in suspense :::evil laugh:::

lama & co: whoa! that was a pretty long review...hehehe, not that i mind because i definitely enjoyed reading it. and don't be too harsh on Xela...if she's in some kinda writer's block funk i can definitely relate. i have a couple of stories i am stuck on and can't possibly write/add anything to it so it just sits there waiting for me to pick it up and work on it again

Miss Marauder: i didn't think your heart was racing...not even one bit :::grins:::

Neni Potter: yep, yes indeedy they are

Hannah4Daniel: i'll try and add more to those 2 stories, but in the meantime i'll be working on this one for now

Lady A: yep, i seem to keep on forgetting to stick to one tense. thanks for the advice

sadie (say-dee: no, she shouldn't fall into any hole...she might play a major part later on...well, i'm working on it...hehehe

vanns: good luck on that d/g fic you're starting on and they'll get together soon....

karly: hehehehe, well, here's that short chappie i told you about...after this i'm working on the next one and hopefully i get to post it tonite b4 i go to sleep

August: so you don't mind the near-kiss scenes??? hehehehe

mavis: i think teachers always have that kinda competition, hehehehe...i can't tell you right now when they'll be locking lips...like what i keep on saying...soon

Polgara: he'll get his due soon

Isis: they didn't kiss in this chapter, sorry, but i'll see where I can sneak it in...hehehehe