Disclaimer: As always Harry Potter and all its wonderful cast of characters is the product of JK Rowlings' vivid imagination. I'm just borrowing characters from her wonderful work and use them to play a part in my own little plot bunny idea.

Summary: There's always that one person who will always have your heart; You'll never see them coming 'coz you're blinded from the start...

PhoenixRae's Notes: Well, here's the second chapter. I hope you enjoyed the first one. I dunno exactly how often I'll be updating this fic, but hopefully I get to update it as often as possible. And I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I won't get writer's block. :::smiles:::

II. First Week

Ginny made sure her welcoming smile was kept intact until the last of her students for the day filed out of her Transfiguration classroom and headed off to their dormitories to prepare for dinner in the Great Hall. She let out a long sigh then slumped down in her chair, her large desk stacked with papers to be checked and quizzes to be marked. Thank Merlin it was already Friday. She didn't think she'd last a week after her disastrous start to her week, and it was all thanks to her wonderful nephews.

She made a mental note to send an owl to the boys fathers and let them know exactly how much of a handful their sons were. She knew Fred and George were a handful when they were younger, but her being the youngest she didn't actually have to suffer from reprimanding her brothers. Now she knew what their mother must've went through when her twin brothers were growing up.

Giving herself a few minutes to compose herself, Ginny straightened up in her seat and started tidying up her desk. She'll get to marking the quizzes and checking the papers after dinner. For now she needed to freshen up and prepare for dinner; she was starving!

"Ready to call it a week, Weasley?" Came Draco's all too familiar sneer sounded from the open classroom doorway.

Ginny looked up from the mess on her desk and frowned at her uninvited visitor. "Are you checking up on me, Malfoy?" She didn't sound nor looked pleased to see him. She thought she'd be Malfoy-free for at least an hour or so before dinner.

Draco pushed himself from the doorway and walked into his colleague's classroom with the air of authority emanating from him. He eyed the classroom carefully, taking note of the changes Ginny made to it since taking over Transfiguration at the start of term. She took down numerous portraits of animals, flowers and humans that doesn't relate much to the subject this class was used for and in their place she put up step-by-step how-to charts and animated portraits of an object, animal or human being transformed to something else. Helpful tolls for students to glance at every so often to help aid them when they were stumped.

"Check up on you, Professor?" He echoed and raised an eyebrow. He stopped in front of her desk and added, "Whyever would I do that? And if ever I am checking up on you, which I am not, it would be out of common courtesy to a fellow teacher. After all, I've had these kids for two years now--I have the slight advantage of knowing them more than you." He sounded so damn cocky Ginny itched to connect her fist to his jaw and wipe that smug grin off his face.

That grin, however sexy and drool-worthy it made him look, still had that annoying effect on her. Annoying and seething with unquenchable hatred to the man sporting it. It was because of that grin that cost her a life in exile; away from those she loved; robbed her of years spent getting to know her nieces and nephews. Most importantly it cost her the loss of someone dear to her.

"You're not the type to be considerate, Professor," She replied acidly. "Now is there a valid reason behind this visit, if you can call it that?"

Draco raised his brow higher at the contempt lacing Ginny Weasley's tone. Such hostility coming from such a small person. He thought the intervening years mellowed her down a bit, apparently he had been wrong.

"You know Weasley, we're on the same side now. Do you think you'll be able to cut me some slack?"

"We might be on the same side, Malfoy, but pigs don't fly unless charmed to do so, and crows don't turn to white unless transformed," She rationalized. "Now I'm going to ask you again, is there a point to you being in my classroom?" Ginny gave him a pointed look, looking down her nose at the man who towered over her, but thanks to her elevated front room area she didn't have to suffer a kink when she looked at him. She could actually glare down at him.

Draco's mood changed from playful to serious. He couldn't understand what eh did to make her hate him so. Shock played an integral part in their initial meeting, but that had been a week ago. The shock of seeing her again after twelve years subsided after their first night at Hogwarts.

"If you hate me, Weasley, just say it," He challenged, a scowl replacing his earlier airy expression.

"Hate you, Malfoy?" Ginny echoed. "Oh no, Professor. I don't hate you. I loathe and despise you. Nothing you say, nothing you do, nothing you try will ever change that. I missed out on twelve years of my da--" Ginny caught herself before she said something she'd later regret, but her almost slip didn't go amiss as far as Draco was concerned. He wished she'd go on, to give him a glimpse of what happened to the young woman he last met twelve years ago, but she clamed up almost immediately. Clearing her throat, Ginny squared her shoulders and looked at Draco straight in the eyes and asked, "What do you want, Malfoy?"

"You missed out on twelve years of whose life, Weasley?" Draco ignored her question and asked a question of his own.

Ginny kept her facial expression neutrail. "None of your business. Now, what are you doing in my classroom?"

"Answer me first," He insisted.

"I don't have to answer you, Malfoy. I told you to mind your own business. Now, for the last time are or are you not going to answer my question. If I remembered correctly I asked you first what are you doing in my classroom."

Draco looked as though he wanted to press her for more questions, but the stubborn look on the petite redhead's face stopped from him asking. Professor McGonagall kindly asked him to summon their new Transfiguration teacher to her office immediately after class to tell her something. It was an urgent message that got waylaid a bit the moment he stood on her classroom's open doorway and saw her at the head of the room, slumped against her chair looking distraught; her mop of fiery red hair held loosely by two pieces of stick stuck in her hair.

"The Headmistress wants to see you right away. She asked me to relay the message to you," He told her curtly.

"Is that all?"

"As far as I know. You must be going. She wanted to speak to you before dinner starts." Draco didn't wait for her reply. He took a step back and turned, he walked out of her classroom the same way he walked in, with the air of authority surrounding him.

Ginny watched the man who helped turn her world upside-down. At the doorway he made a sharp right turn and was out of view. She took a deep, calming breath, bracing her hands on either side of her on her desk, she slowly helped herself sit down. She almost slipped. She very nearly slipped. She thought she had control, but when Draco Malfoy was concerned control was the farthest thing from her mind.

"Ah, Professor Weasley," Minerva McGonagall, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, looked up from the parchment she had in her hand and smiled at the redheaded woman who entered her office. "Please, have a seat," She waived her wand and a chair appeared before her.

"Thank you, Professor," Ginny smiled and walked around the wooden armchair. "Professor Malfoy told me you wanted to see me, Headmistress?"

"Please Ginny, call me Minerva when we are alone," Professor McGonagall smiled and set down the parchment she was reading. Leaning forward in her seat, she regarded the newest addition to their staff carefully, weighing in her options before she made her announcement. "How are you liking your new job so far, Ginny?"

"I'm--I'm liking it just fine, Profess-er, Minerva," Ginny nodded, stumbling a bit when addressing her former teacher and head of house. "The students are all...well, they're a handful, I will tell you that, especially my brothers' children."

"Oh yes, the Weasley boys," the elderly woman agreed, chuckling under her breath. "There was quite a lot of them since all your brothers married and started producing the next generation of Weasleys."

"Can't say I blame them. We were a fine litter, the seven of us. I think my brothers wanted to have a big family to enjoy."

"Uh-hm," Professor McGonagall agreed. "Well Professor, I'm glad to hear that you're enjoying your teaching position here at Hogwarts. It's a different experience, I know. I sensed your reluctance when I read your reply to my request. You were quite content working at St. Mungo's."

"Yes, yes I was," she nodded. "I was trained to be a mediwitch, Headmistress. When I received an owl post from you I figured you were going to offer me Madam Pomfrey's position. I didn't expect you to ask me to take over teaching Transfiguration."

"You were a good student, Ginny. You passed your OWLs and NEWT exams in flying colours. And from what I'm hearing in the hallway, your students were quite entertained in your class. You bring certain elements of surprise and fun into it," she complimented.

Ginny blushed at the praise. She didn't think her students were taken with her, especially not her nieces and nephews. Well, mainly her nephews. She hadn't scolded anyone as much as she had those boys. They thought just because she was their aunt she'd be lenient with them.

"Thank you, Professor. I try my best to keep the students entertained as much as possible. The more I keep their interest, the more they'll absorb in my class," she explained.

"I like that philosophy," nodded the Headmistress. "Now, the main reason why I asked to meet with you before dinner."

Ginny sat up straighter, crossing her hands on top of each other on her lap. She maintained eye contact with her superior and waited.

"You were and always will be a Gryffindor, Ginny," Professor McGonagall began, "I watched you very closely this week. You are approachable, sympathetic and understanding especially when it comes to your students' needs and problems. All those qualities and a few more that I noticed you showed were the qualities I was looking for in search of the new Head of Gryffindor House," she paused and watched the young woman's reaction before continuing. "I temporarily took over shortly after Professor Spinnell left, but I cannot hold too many hats, can I now?" she chuckled.

Ginny was still reeling from shock at what the Headmistress was trying to say to her, but she managed to let out a chuckle.

"Professor, I don't want to sound too presumptuous here, but are you saying that you're offering me the position to take over from your current disposition as the Head of Gryffindor House?" Ginny asked carefully.

Professor McGonagall's smile slowly broaden, her eyes twinkled above the rim of her specs. "I want to give you the heads up before I make the announcement at dinner tonight."

A/N: Hmm...Ginny's got a secret...I wonder what was that she missed out on...any ideas? :::evil grin:::

PhoenixRae's THANK YOUs: Shout-outs goes to sassw14, iamsamshope, NikkiEvans, Yochy, PnAyxTrAcKsTaR01, Alyssa Rose, jackie,

Lela :::LoL::: We'll see about using that for a title. But then people might not take my story seriously if ever I used something like that for my fic

Alessandra Stardancer I played with this idea for a while, but I kept on putting it off 'coz I didn't think it will work. But right now it looks like it's gonna work and it might work so I'm keeping my fingers crossed

Dweeb Sometimes I don't see it coming to an end, but when I get inspired I can just picture the ending of the fic

Angel Black1 Thanks for the advice. I'll try to avoid doing that in future chapters.

sweetmly117 Here's all I can say: EVERYONE of Ginny's brothers are hitched. Draco's "turning" will be revealed in future chapters.

talisa At least the grammar's improved :::winks::: and I dunno what else you were gonna say coz your review/message was incomplete

Annie Thanks for pointing that out. When I did my editing I completely forgot about that line Draco mentioned that screwed the whole timeline bit. But that's been rectified now.

bigreader hehehehe, You won a great big virtual hug & kiss from Draco! Thanks for reading it! :::winks:::

Cassandra Sisenta Why did you feel guilty? You haven't updated your fics in a while?

clevamugglegrl03 I'd like to see how this plays out too. So far so good

Ellie You know it's gonna be D/G :::winks:::

Lady Felton1 Thanks for not skimming