Summary: Ginny's got a secret admirer. Could he be that cute new teacher? Could he be her house team's seeker? Could he be someone whom she knew right from her very first year at Hogwarts? Or could he be one of the most unlikely person to even notice her?

Disclaimer: NOT MINE! Although I wish they were a product of my very own imagination, sad to say I only own the plot & the other characters that might pop up somewhere down the road here.

PhoenixRae's Note: well, I think the last chapter wasn't up to par. Anyway, here's the next chapter. I actually meant to end this fic with less than 15 chapters, but after what I just did in the previous chapter, I guess I just put another twist into the mix *lol* And also I decided to correct Blaise's last name.

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XII. Zabini You Idiot!

Draco made damn sure to stay out of Ginny's way for the rest of the weekend. The only time he saw her was during dinner in the Great Hall. Even then the atmosphere was too thick he could hardly breathe. He needed to get outta there, but he didn't want to cause any suspicion from his housemates so he endured the whole ordeal. Watching Ginny from across the room mooning over Zabini was enough to make Draco want to stand up on the Slytherin table and yell out he was her damn APC and he doesn't care who else knew about it. But he had better class than that. No need to make an even bigger fool out of himself by doing something as stupid as that.

Every time he glanced at the Gryffindor table he would catch a glimpse of Ginny looking longingly at the Slytherin table. But she wasn't looking at him. Her eyes were directed at Blaise who was busy chattering away beside him. He was oblivious of the wondering look Ginny was sending him. Of course Zabini wouldn't notice. Ginny wasn't the girl he fancied. It was one of her friends that he fancied, but stupid Zabini, he had to act all nice and heroic-like which obviously made Ginny suspect he was her secret admirer.

Draco could just read what was racing through her mind right now. He felt ruddy guilty at what he did to her Saturday afternoon, but he knew deep down he couldn't have faced her after what he just learned.

She thought he was Zabini.

Zabini! God, of all the people…he was shocked when she told him who was her prime suspect. He couldn't believe what he just heard, but Ginny clarified it and he knew his hearing wasn't impaired.

He nearly punched Zabini when he returned back to school that day, but he knew his friend wasn't at fault. Blaise had his reasons for being sweet on Ginny—it wasn't some devious plot to embarrass her. Zabini would sure get well acquainted with his fist if he did something devious to Ginny. No, Blaise's reason for being sweet and friendly towards Ginny had more to do with him wanting to find out some info about one of her friends that Blaise was pining for; he better not be pining for Ginny herself or Draco swore he wouldn't be held responsible for what he would do to Blaise if ever he tried to steal Ginny from him!

"Hey, what's the matter with you? You barely touched your food," Blaise nudged Draco on their way back to their dorm.

"Nothing," Draco shook his head and continued walking.

"It's not 'nothing,' Malfoy. You're pissed-off," Blaise pointed out. "Care I take a wild stab at who pissed you off, hm?"

Draco threw him a glare worthy of skewering a wild boar. Blaise should've taken heed, but instead he pressed his luck and went on.

"It was Ginny, wasn't it?" he dropped his voice to a mere whisper so only his friend could hear. "I saw you followed her out of the Three Broomsticks. Actually, I saw you two seated in a booth. You both looked fan-bloody-tastic together, sitting there all chummy and all," he teased.

"Sod off, Zabini. I'm tired and I have tons of homework to do," Draco turned and walked towards the direction of the boy's seventh year dormitory.

"Yeah, right," Blaise followed him back to their dorm room, closing the door after him and watched Draco crawl into his bed and closed the drapes of his four-poster bed. He raised an eyebrow at his friend's odd behaviour and instead of leaving him alone, he went and disturbed him. "C'mon Malfoy, get out from in there. What the hell's really wrong with you?"

"None of your bloody business, Zabini. So leave me alone, will ya?" he snapped. "Can't anybody in here have some peace and quiet?"

"Not when you're in my company, Malfoy," Blaise replied and pulled open the drapes. Draco remained unfazed, lying on his back in bed with an arm draped over his eyes. Blaise frowned and leaned against one of the poster bed's poles. "Your meeting with Ginny didn't go well, huh? She bolted as soon as she realized who was the person behind all those sappy love letters you kept on writing?"

"Shut your mouth, Zabini, or I'll permanently shut it for you," Draco threatened.

"Oooh, I'm scared," Blaise mocked.

Draco turned his back to Blaise and tried to ignore his annoying presence, but Blaise wasn't that very easy to ignore. Draco felt his bed dip at Blaise's weight and he knew what that meant: Blaise would drill him until he got an answer from him.

"Zabini, what part of 'leave me alone' don't you understand, huh?" Draco snapped at his unwanted companion.

Blaise pretended to ponder on Draco's question then looked pointedly at the blond lying on the bed. "Actually the part where you want me to leave you alone," he deadpanned.

Draco growled and rolled his grey eyes skyward. God, why can't he have some peace and quiet for a change? Was that too much to ask?

"I just want to be alone, that's all," Draco replied.

"Why?" Blaise insisted.

"It's none of your business."

"Of course it is my business, you git!" scolded Blaise. "Now, what happened yesterday after your meeting with Ginny?" he insisted.

"Nothing. Just leave me alone, Zabini. I've got a lot on my mind right now," Draco turned his back to Blaise once again and pulled his pillow over his head.

Blaise rolled his eyes skyward and grabbed the pillow covering Draco's head. He threw it at the foot of the bed and leaned against one of the four-poster post.

"C'mon Malfoy, I have all night to sit here and get the scoop out of you."

"Whatever, Zabini. I won't tell," Draco insisted.

"Are you sure?" he challenged.

"Go away, Zabini," Draco hissed.

"C'mon Malfoy, you know you can confide in me. Besides, I might be able to—"

"She thinks you're her secret admirer," Draco butt-in in the hopes of shutting Blaise up. And he did.

Blaise blinked twice at the mention of who Ginny thought was her secret admirer.

"I beg your pardon?"

"You heard me right, Zabini, now go away. Leave me alone," Draco rolled on to his stomach and grabbed his other pillow to cover his head since Blaise took his other pillow.

"But-but…" Blaise reached over and pulled Draco's pillow from his head and threw it at the foot of his bed as well. "Malfoy, why would she think that?"

Draco's reply was muffled since his face was pressed against the mattress. Blaise had to pry his friend away and turned Draco on his back.

"What did you just say?"

Draco glared at Blaise. Why couldn't he just leave him alone? He already told him what was bugging him and yet Zabini couldn't take the hint.

"I said go figure it out yourself. Now, leave me in peace, alright?"

"No, I won't," Blaise answered. "You're going to tell me why Ginny thought I'm her secret admirer when she met up with you for your afternoon rendezvous?"

"She didn't know it was me she was suppose to be meeting. I didn't get the chance to tell her that I was the one who was sending her those letters," he explained.

Blaise frowned. "Then how did you know she thought I was behind those letters?"

"I asked her."

"And?"

"And she said she suspected it was you because of the way you've been treating her lately."

"What?"

Draco rolled his eyes. "Zabini, don't be an idiot. You know damn well what you've been doing this past few weeks. Befriending Ginny so you could score some brownie points when you ask her help with that girl you're fancying."

"Ginny misunderstood my friendliness," Blaise muttered, looking dumbstruck as he sank against the post of Draco's bed.

"Hell yeah," Draco snorted.

"Uh-oh," he mumbled.

" 'Uh-oh' is an understatement, Zabini. Now get out of my face before I changed my mind and rearrange your face. I have been restraining myself from doing so since Saturday, but right now…"

"Okay, okay," Blaise got off Draco's bed, his hands raised to fend him off. "Sorry about that, mate. Didn't mean to screw things up between you and Ginny," he apologized and quickly turned away from the sulking blond and headed for his bed. He knew he had to do something to right what obviously was wrong. Ginny thinking that he fancied her was bad. Hell yeah, it was bad. How the heck would he be able to ask her to help him ask one of her best friends out on a date if she thinks he had the hots for her?

Damn, Zabini. Great going. Now you have to approach this battle from a different angle. Can't have Ginny mooning over you. Malfoy would sure kick your arse if you get the girl of his dreams to fall for you instead! he scolded himself.

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A/N: Phew! Sorry for the delay. I haven't had time to sit down and finish this chapter. Actually, it took me a while to finish this short chapter coz…well, coz I was suddenly plagued with writer's block. Well, not really, but I just couldn't continue on with it coz I couldn't think of what to write. I had this whole chapter figured out in my head, but it was writing it down that held me back. Anyways, hope you enjoyed this one and I'll try and get the next chapter out as soon as I can.

A/N 2: I know I normally say 'thank you' to each and every one of my reviewers, but as it as a very long list, I have to do this in one shout-out THANK YOU ALL FOR READING, REVIEWING & BEING PATIENT WITH ME. Some of the events from the previous chapters (i.e. who was the person watching Ginny after she broke the fight between Ron & Draco) will be answered in future chapters. How far into the future chapters? I'm not sure yet, but be assured that before I end this story it'll be answered.