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 Notes: I know months has passed since I last updated this fic. I am so, so, sooooo sorry about that. Damn writer's block (and life too) often gets in the way. Anyways, it looks like this fic is nearing its end, I just have to find the perfect way to end this. Thanks for sticking around and cajoling me to update. grins Enjoy this chapter!

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XX. What Are You Trying to Prove?

In as much as Ginny appreciated the romantic gesture Draco Malfoy did in order to win her, she thought he went a tad bit overboard with the mushiness. But if he thought he'd win her over with that stunt he pulled last night, he was wrong. She wasn't that easily swept off her feet. Well, she was, but she'd be damned if she admitted that!

Ginny went about her day ignoring the sweet aromas of the flowers surrounding her bed as soon as she got up this morning. She gave each one of her roommates a flower just to get rid of them, but after she gave Abby, Bianca, Helen, and Andrea Raven one flower of their choice, Ginny was still stuck with quite a few of them. She ended up distributing some to the other girls from different years. When Hermione was handed a rose, there was a certain gleam in the seventh year Gryffindor that didn't go amiss to Ginny.

"You helped him, didn't you?" she accused her closest friend after breakfast. She followed Hermione as soon as she was done her breakfast and dragged her to a corner. "You helped Malfoy pick the flowers to give me and you arranged them in my room."

"What are you talking about, Gin? Me help Malfoy out? Are you crazy?"

Ginny crossed her arms over her chest, an eyebrow raised as she stared at her friend. "C'mon Mione, I know you. And Malfoy did hint on being helped by someone he'd least likely to ask for help. Now I know I can always guess he asked Harry or Ron, but I doubt those two have any romantic bone in their body so the next obvious person he could've asked for help was you."

"Ginny--"

Ginny raised her hand and silenced Hermione. "Mione, I love you. You're like a sister to me. And most importantly, I know you. You don't have to lie to me. It's not like you swore under oath that you would not reveal to me that you helped Malfoy out!"

"It's not that I swore under oath, Ginny. I just promised Malfoy that I won't let anybody else find out that he asked a Muggle born for help. You know how snotty he is. He thinks me being a Muggle born is beneath him," explained Hermione. "And for what's it worth, Gin, I think if Malfoy would stoop that low and ask me for help, I think he's really serious about you." Hermione left Ginny with that last comment, making the redheaded sixth year ponder on the possibility that Malfoy was indeed serious about pursuing her, even though he went through such extremes just to get her attention.

Blaise waited until the final bell of the day outside Ginny and Abby's last class. He was under strict orders from Draco to give Ginny the note he wrote the night before. He looked at it before Draco sealed it and gave his housemate his two thumbs-up. It was still a very un-Draco-like letter, but the poor bloke was practically pouring his heart out to the one girl he wanted. He knew Draco Malfoy's status at Hogwarts; he was the resident heartbreaker. The stud of the Slytherin male (next to him of course, but every female in school would challenge that). He was a slimeball who gave no care to all the girls he dated and bedded; he was only after one thing anyway: sex and the warmth of a female body lying next to him.

Blaise shook his head and snorted. Yep, that was the old Draco alright. But since falling for the most unlikely girl in all of Hogwarts, something about his old buddy changed. Draco became more moody. He started acting strangely, especially when he started sending Ginny those unsigned love letters. The allure of the numerous lust-worthy beauties that paraded before him went unnoticed; Draco only had eyes for the spitfire redheaded sixth year Gryffindor chaser.

Blaise snapped out of his reverie when students started filing out of their classrooms. He straightened from his post standing by the large pillar across the door of Ginny and Abby's last class of the day. He checked the inside pocket of his robe and felt for the piece of parchment Draco entrusted him with to deliver to Ginny.

"Weasley! Wilson!" Blaise called over the top of the other students' heads as he made her way towards the two sixth years.

Ginny and Abby stopped and turned to look at Blaise approaching them. Ginny felt Abby stiffened as they both watched Blaise tower over the other sixth years, his right arm raised up and waving at them. From where they stood they had a good look at the Slytherin chaser; the broadness of his shoulders, the perfect V-shape of his torso visible from his open school robe and the way his school shirt hugged the fine contours of his upper body was enough to give any red-hot-blooded female sweet, lustful dreams tonight. And from the way Abby was practically ogling at Blaise, Ginny knew her best friend would be one of those girls fantasizing about him in their sleep.

"Phew! Finally, I made it," Blaise announced as soon as he passed through the throng of eager students who can't wait to get back to their dormitories. "How are you ladies this afternoon?" His smile could've melted the largest glacier on the planet, and as far as Ginny was concerned it just did.

Abby melted into a huge puddle beside her when he received a full blast of Blaise Zabini's megawatt smile.

"We're fine, Zabini," Ginny replied since Abby seemed to have lost her tongue. "What do you want?"

"Whoa, aren't we a bit too snippy this afternoon," Blaise raised his hands up and backed away a bit from them. "You can't be mad at me, can you Gin?"

Ginny raised an eyebrow and challenged him. "After having something to do with Malfoy's devious plan? What do you think?"

"Hey, I wasn't an instigator to his whacked-up plan."

"But you helped him nevertheless."

Blaise opened his mouth to argue, but the fire he saw in Ginny's eyes told him she'd never let him win this argument. The best (and smartest) thing to do was to concede and accept her anger towards him.

"OK, I don't want to argue with you anymore. I'm sorry for ever taking part in Malfoy's whacked-up plan. Is that better?"

Ginny scrutinized the young man standing before her carefully, deciding on whether or not to forgive him or still give him heck.

"C'mon Ginny, it doesn't take that long to forgive me. I'll understand you taking your sweet old time forgiving Malfoy for what he did, but me? Honestly Weasley! I was just the blasted messenger!"

"And messengers are often shot by the person they're delivering the message to," Abby pointed out.

Blaise turned his attention to Ginny's companion, willing himself not to react to her very presence. Since their unexpected snogfest a few nights ago Blaise hadn't been able to look at Abigail Wilson without blushing. The spunky blond companion of his housemate's ladylove grew on him without him realizing it. Sure it was just a minor infatuation at the beginning of the year, but as he watched Abby since the school year started and actually interacted with her every now and then he glimpsed something about the sixth year Gryffindor that appealed to him.

"Well this messenger is washing his hands off this fiasco after this one last message I was asked to deliver to Ginny," Blaise pulled out the piece of parchment that has been burning a hole in his robe pocket and handed it to the redhead. "Read it and decide what you think. Believe it or not Gin, but Malfoy's really fallen hard for you. I know he's a real prat and didn't make your life easy for you, but cut the guy some slack."

"And since when did the famous Blaise Zabini became a real softie, huh?" challenged Abby, her arms crossed firmly over her chest and glared up at the towering Slytherin seventh year.

Blaise gave her an annoyed look but opted not to say anything. She was just goading him and he wouldn't be stupid enough to get into a fight with her. The last thing he wanted was to have two Gryffindor girls berating him.

"Read the letter then let me know your response," Blaise told Ginny and firmly planted himself before her, blocking her way to the stairs.

"What? Are you serious?"

"I'm afraid I am. I was given specific instructions to wait for you to finish reading the letter and have your reply before I show my face to my surly housemate."

Ginny raised an eyebrow then looked at Abby who merely gave her a slight shrug. Blaise was serious about hearing her answer to whatever question Draco asked her in his letter. Might as well make life easy for Zabini. And give Abby ample time to ogle at her new love, Ginny thought to herself as she unrolled the parchment.

Restless tonight
Cause I wasted the light
Between both these times
I drew a really thin line
It's nothing I planned
And not that I can
But you should be mine
Across that line

If I traded it all
If I gave it all away for one thing
Just for one thing
If I sorted it out
If I knew all about this one thing
Wouldn't that be something

I promise I might
Not walk on by
Maybe next time
But not this time

Even though I know
I don't want to know
Yeah I guess I know
I just hate how it sounds


Dearest Ginny,
I've tried everything to persuade you to believe in my true intentions. I know you're not buying all this mushy crap, and I can't blame you. I never really looked like the type of guy who'd be all romantic and shit after all the crap I put you through this past six years. I don't know how else to tell you, to show you, to let you know that I am not playing a game. I can't change who I am, but for you I'll try to be nice if that'll make any difference to you.
Isn't it enough that I'm willing to try? Honestly Ginny, do you think we'll have a chance? Or rather, do you think I'll have a chance with you? Blaise will be waiting for your reply. I know at the back of my head you will most likely turn me down, but I'm hoping against hope that you won't. But know this, whatever your answer might be I'll respect it. I just want to know.

Always,
Draco

Ginny stared at the piece of parchment in her hand for the longest time. Torn between giving in to her real feelings or denying what she really wanted, she couldn't make up her mind. Weighing the pros and cons of her actions, she had been known to be impulsive as of late, but if she acted recklessly on this one she knew Ron would never forgive her. Hermione and Abby might not have a problem with it, but Harry and Ron might.

Blaise and Abby waited with baited breath to hear her answer. Blaise knew what Draco asked in his letter. Abby found out what it was Draco asked when she read the letter over Ginny's shoulder. She couldn't help but feel sorry for Malfoy (almost feel sorry for Malfoy to be precise). The poor bloke was pouring his heart out, leaving the final decision in Ginny's hands. Honestly she can see the major attraction between Malfoy and Ginny, and regardless of how Ron and Harry will react if ever Ginny decided to date Malfoy, there was nothing much they can do about it. It was Ginny's choice.

Making the toughest decision to date, Ginny lifted her chin high into the air, her brown eyes looking down her nose (or tried to anyway) at Blaise who stood towering over her.

"Zabini, tell Malfoy I don't think so. There's a small chance in hell that a Weasley and a Malfoy will ever find unity in this lifetime or the next." With her chin still jutted high in the air, she walked away from her best friend and Blaise, leaving a dumbfounded Abby and a crestfallen Blaise.

"Did...did Ginny just say what I thought she just said?" Blaise asked, his eyes still fixed on Ginny's departing back.

Still too dumbfounded to speak, Abby can only nod her head in response to Blaise's question. What the hell was her best friend thinking? After Malfoy showered her with flowers she knew her best friend has completely fallen for him. She fell for the man behind the sweet, mushy letters and the wonderful flowers. Regardless of who the sender was, Abby knew the man who wrote those sweet, sappy love notes was honest and sincere; and Ginny loved that man! What the hell was she thinking telling Blaise there was no chance in hell for him and Malfoy?!

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A/N: I think this is a good place as any to end this chapter here, what do you think? Well, I kinda didn't like the way this chapter turned out, but you be the judge. At least I am seeing some sort of direction on where I'm going to take this fic. Like what I said in my above's a/n, this fic is coming to an end. How soon? I'm not sure yet. Just stick around.

A/N2: Draco borrowed Finger Eleven's One Thing song

PhoenixRae's THANK YOUs: I know there's too many of you wonderful reviewers & readers alike to thank, but you all know who you are. Thank you for sticking around with me for the time being. grins Hope you enjoyed this latest chapter!