Disclaimer: I do not own any of the following characters of Ms. J.K.Rowling.

A/N: It's Sunday already????!!!!! Damn it... the weekend seemed to have flown by without me noticing !! I still have a huge pile of assignments to do which I never touched. I spent the whole weekend at my friend's place, watching telly!! Damn, damn, damn. I'm in so much trouble...

And I wanna sleep

What the hell... here's the next chapter, ladies and gentlemen!!

Ginny paused in front of the dungeon's door. Somehow, she lacked the strength to push open the door. "Weasley! Get a

move on it, will ya?" A protest of voices called from behind her. She turned around to shoot a withering glance at her

attacker before bracing herself and stepping in the dungeon. As usual, Professor Snape had not entered the dungeons. Ginny

breathed deeply as she tried to prepare herself. The voices died down and could only mean one thing. He had arrived.

A rustle of robes could be heard as he swiftly made his way to the front of the dungeon. "You will be making the potion of

harmony today, otherwise known as Harmonious de Liquido. The ingredients which you will be requiring are in the

cupboard, and the instructions are on the board." He paused and waved his wand in the direction of the board. Words

appeared. "Perhaps today, some of you will be receiving marks." His steely eyes scanned the classroom and settled on

Ginny. She gulped self consciously. "Begin."

She read the instructions thoroughly and made her way to the student cupboard to retrieve the necessary ingredients. She

was determined not to let Professor Snape put her down today. Beads started to appear on her brow as she bent over her

potion, with a look of utmost concentration on her face.

He glanced at her once or twice across the classroom. The students were busy talking to each other while brewing their

potions. But she was not. On the other hand, she looked like she was caught up in her own little world.

It was a funny day today. When he woke up this morning, he felt surprisingly refreshed. The first thing he realised was that he

wasn't plagued by nightmares, as he usually was. He had meant to give Ginny Weasley a hard time during class. But the

realisation of not having nightmares seemed to have uplifted his mood. He had actually SMILED at the rest of the professors

and joined in their conversations during the staff meeting before. This had won many curious glances but received quite a

warm reception.

The class was nearing the end and the students were filling flasks to be marked. Ginny grabbed her flask, which was filled

with a silvery liquid and set in on the professor's desk before cleaning her work bench. Just as she was about to leave, she

heard someone call her name. "Damn. I knew he wouldn't let me off so easily!"

"Ginny Weasley. A word please." Ginny reluctantly turned around and made her way to the front of the dungeon, where

Professor Snape was standing. By now, the dungeon was already empty.

There was a moment of silence as Ginny shuffled her feet. "The potion you produced today was quite satisfactory." Professor

Snape said in his low voice as he sat down across the table. She looked at him with wide, unstaring eyes. Professor Snape

had just praised her? She must be coming down with a fever. "Due to the results you have shown in class, I have decided to

return your magazine." He paused and put the magazine on his table. It was incredible. Professor Snape was actually acting

like a normal person today.

"Th...Thank... you ..professor..." She stammered out. She quickly retrieved the magazine and dashed out of the dungeons.

"WHAT?!" Mary-Ann looked on at Ginny with disbelieving eyes as she clutched her beloved magazine. "He actually

returned the magazine to you? And praised your potions?" She lifted her fork of potatoes but missed her mouth. Luna

continued to read, with her book upside-down as usual, without commenting. The three girls were seated in the Great Hall,

having a hurried lunch before their next class started.

"Yeah.. That was what he did. Wait. I have to make a memory of what just happened." Ginny paused dramatically and

closed her eyes. A couple of Gryffindor boys who were seated just a few places away looked in her direction. Ginny had

grown into an attractive young lady. Everyone around her knew that and admired her looks, but she never seemed to notice.

"But he didn't say anything about my detention! I forgot to ask him about it!" She moaned as she lowered her head on the

table. Luna chuckled softly. "It figures. You always forget the minor details."

"I do not forget minor details all the time." Ginny retorted and pulled Luna's hair softly. "Stop that!" Luna laughed and tickled

Ginny. Not one to be missed out from the fun, Mary-Ann joined in the tickling and very soon, all three girls were shrieking

with laughter. Ginny was laughing the hardest with tears rolling down her face, unaware of an unwavering pair of eyes set on

her.

A knock on the door woke him up from his thoughts. "Enter." A head full of red hair peeked in before he could see the face.

"Professor Snape? I'm here for my detention." Ginny said as she made her way to his table. She was dressed in a dishevelled

manner, having just come out from Quidditch practice. She had to skip dinner in order to attend practice.

"Rinse out the flasks and set them on the bench. Without using magic." Professor Snape said as he turned his gaze towards

the parchment set out in front of him. Ginny groaned inwardly as she looked at the multitude of flasks he had set out for her.

Her stomach grumbled menacingly as she set down to work.

She had managed to wash 300 flasks and her joints were practically screaming out in protest. "Professor Snape, I'm done."

She forced herself to sound upbeat despite her weariness as she approached his table.

"Very well. You may leave." Professor Snape muttered, without lifting his head. She nodded and dragged herself to the door.

Oh no, she thought. The room was starting to spin. She gripped the side of the nearest bench. Her knees buckled.

Snape looked up, just in time to see Ginny go down. "Momentus!" He quickly chanted while pointing his wand in her

direction. The spell slowed her fall downwards as he made his way towards her. Her eyes were closed and she felt cold to

his touch. He sat down on the ground, and placed her head on his lap. Ginny's eyes flickered after a moment and immediately

opened when she looked up at her potions master. "Oh my god. I'm so sorry, professor!" She struggled to sit up but was

pushed back into a lying position.

"Don't be silly, girl. Lie back down and don't move." Professor Snape growled. Ginny lay back down with a flushing face.

She stole a glance upwards to see the professor focusing his gaze on her face. This was extremely awkward. She was

blushing furiously now. She hated her hair because it made her whole head resemble a giant tomato when she was

embarrassed. "Are you feeling better now?" He asked softly. She nodded, mutely. He slowly lifted her to her feet.

They stopped in front of the fat lady. "Just eat your dinner, and rest. You'll feel better after that." He turned around and

started to make his way down the stairs. "Oh, and Ms. Weasley? Your condition doesn't permit you to forgo tomorrow's

detention."

All the good feelings she had felt inside started to bristle. It was wrong expecting so much out of him anyway. Professor

Snape was a git, whether he liked it or not. "He's such a prick." She muttered to the fat lady's portrait as soon as she was

certain that the professor was out of hearing range.

The fat lady's forehead ceased into a frown. "Young lady, watch your words!" Ginny rolled her eyes and quickly muttered

the password.

A/N: Haha... well.... the flashback part is really long.. I still have a couple more chapters of flashback to get through...but you guys will see how everything falls into place when I'm done!