A/N:UGH! I am SOOOO sorry I haven't updated for a bit. I have a worthy excuse! I have so far only gotten three reviews, so I can tell you, that isn't very inspiring. However, I have another long-run fic on the go. It's a Draco/Hermione, and I have about twenty reviews for that one. All of which good. So I am obviously in higher demand for it. So, as it happens, I am writing that and updated almost every single day. I will continue this story only if my reviewers think it's worthy to do so. At any rate if I do continue, the updates might be a little slow. Thank anyways.

Disclaimer: Sadly, I am writing on a Windows '98, and something tells me J.K Rowling would use a better one.

Chapter Two:

Welcome Back.

An extremely grouchy and exhausted Harry crawled up the steps and yanked open the front doors of Hogwarts. It was a week before school began and he had arrived three days after the rest of the staff was supposed to. He marched up to his quarters and set his trunk down before heading into the staff room the grab a short supper before laying out his things for the year to come.

"Ah, Good Evening Professor Potter. We were wondering whether you were going to come back and join us at all this year." Professor Sprout greeted him merrily. The other Professors greeted him in like but all Harry did was give them a quick nod. He sat down and ate for about five minutes before he picked himself up from his chair and walked grouchily back out the door and stamped down the corridor. He hadn't seen Snape-erm, 'Severus'-at dinner, so that was a small consolation to his bad, beat-down mood. He had just managed to get up the stairs to the second floor and round the corner to his rooms when he crashed into a long, soft something. Or someone.

"Watch it!" He snapped angrily, but his angered expression suddenly became one of half horror, half bewilderment.

"Ginny?!" He cried in disbelief.

Ginny blushed furiously and rolled off of him before standing up. "It's Professor Weasley now." She said sheepishly as he pushed himself up to stand before her.

"Professor Weasley?" He gaped at her, unbelieving.

"Yeah, I'm the new Care of Magical Creatures Professor. I can't wait! I mean, I can't beat Hagrid or the things he brought in, but I hope I'll be good! At least my students wont have to deal with Blast Ended Skrewts." She paused to sigh. "Sure beats my hectic, held-up job at the Ministry working for Davenport and Fudge. Dumbledore is a much better employer."

"Wow, Gin! That's great!" He said and smiled. He tried to make his face seem friendly and sincerely glad, but in his head he was screaming. This definitely wasn't good. He'd be spending a lot of time with her now, and didn't know if he could stand it. Unrequited love can be a hard thing to endure.

'Thanks!" Then she frowned, "I have to go now though, I just put my things in my room, and I'm going to grab a light supper before I try my best to finish lesson plans for the third and first years. See you later Harry!"

She took off at a jog, leaving Harry stunned, worried, ecstatic, and rather lonely, standing in the corridor about fifteen meters from his rooms. And that got him thinking, 'The original Care of Magical Creatures teacher's quarters are just down the hall from mine. Hagrid never used them, but Grubbly-Plank did.' He outwardly groaned and finally finding his feet he walked the rest of the way to his rooms and sat down heavily on the couch. He wasn't yet up to outlaying his things. Maybe later.

Later came to be two days later. Two days of eating in his rooms and avoiding the girl…no woman…he loved. Wait, loved? Did he really love her? He wasn't sure, he knew that he had feelings for her but loving someone was serious. No matter, even if he did, he knew she didn't love him.

Finally, however he gave in and spread out his various belongings. His Firebolt, which he still had and rode, pictures of him and the other members of The Golden Trio (his now married best friends) and several other things.

When he was done he looked around at his deep red painted walls and comforters. 'Not to shabby' He thought with a smile. He sighed and walked out of the portrait hole of his quarters, deciding a short walk around the lake could help clear his jumbled thoughts.

He strode down the corridor, hands in his pockets, silently wishing that school would start so that he could have something to preoccupy his mind away from Ginny. Last year was (as you already know) his first year teaching, which put a lot of pressure on him, but what was worse was that his first year, was Ginny's last year as a student. He had to put up with teaching Ginny, whom he had then loved to. It was difficult on both of them for her to say "Professor Potter".

In the end, they made a compromise. Ginny instead, for the rest of the year, called him "Professor Harry." It was a plausible combination of school life, and home life. Harry had tried his best not to 'favourite-ize' her, and was positive he did a rather good job considering the circumstances. He had thought that he would have an easier year this time around, that was until he found out Ginny was a new member of the staff. He did, however, just barely think that, maybe (and only maybe) this might be the opportune moment to tell her how he felt…and get her to love him back.

You never know.

"Harry! Hey, Harry!" Harry whisked around to see Ginny striding up to him by the lake.

"Oh…uh…Hey Gin." He said, eyes downcast.

"I haven't seen you for a couple days now, what gives?"

"Nothing…just been busy is all."

"Right, whatever Harry. Well…Do you mind if I walk with you?"

'Yes, I do!'…"No, not at all Gin."

"Great." She smiled and joined him side by side as the slowly walked the length of the lake. He wasn't sure how, but they got into a discussion about Ginny's last year as a student.

"That was so funny; 'Professor Harry, sir!' Oi, that was very pathetic."

"Hmm…I agree. But at least this year at Hogwarts you can call me Harry again."

"I'll be looking forward to it."

"Indeed." He tried to grab hold of a different subject, "Did you get those lesson plans finished?"

"Yeah…thank the lord. The new term starts tomorrow."

"I know…and I'm only half looking forward to it."

"I'm so nervous! I have no clue what to do. I've got all kinds of magical creatures stored away for first day in those ramshackle sheds Hagrid put up."

"Don't worry you'll be fine. " he said, just as the sunset turned to it's most glorious point in the sky. By then they had reached the far end of the lake, and started heading back to Hogwarts. When the arrived at the door to Harry's chambers, he wasn't sure what to do. He knew what he wanted to do; kiss her. But he didn't know if he should. But Harry was always a more kind of act-without-thinking kind of person. So it happened, that before he knew it, he lowered his head and brushed his lips lightly against Ginny's in a teasing kiss. Just as soon as it started, it stopped and he turned around and in a swirl of midnight blue robes he was gone inside his quarters.

Ginny stood there, barely letting herself believe. She ran her delicate fingers over her lips and sighed. As she walked back to her quarters, she was in a terribly giddy mood, and so it was that she didn't notice the small scuffle of feet and the piercing blue eyes following behind her.

A/N: Sorry about the shortness. Review and let me now if you want more. NO FLAMES!

OK....I'm sorry, but this story is getting DISCONTINUED. If you want to know whose eyes they were......E-MAIL me and i'll tel you. I may restart it again later after i've finished my other fics, but at the time being i am not really all that happy with this one. Sorry.