Disclaimer: I only own the plot.

A/N: Thank you to all of you who reviewed.

Flaming Red Hair

Ginny walked down the stairs slowly searching the common room. It had been three days since the Hogsmeade trip and she had been avoiding Harry ever since. Not seeing him, Ginny felt her muscles relax. She quickened her pace so as to get through the common room as fast as possible in case Harry entered.

"Ginny?"

Ginny stopped and took a deep breath. Just keep breathing, it's going to be okay, just keep breathing. Slowly she turned around. "H-hello Harry," she smiled at him weakly. Feeling a blush rising she swore under her breath.

"I beg your pardon?" Harry said raising his eyebrows.

"Huh? Oh nothing, don't worry about it, um, so what did you want?"

"Oh, I just wanted to thank you for your advice even though . . ."

"Harry," she put up a hand, "don't. Okay? Just don't." She walked away trying to hold back the tears that were threatening to fall. I can't believe he had the nerve to come up and talk to me about what happened when he knows I'm still upset. At least, he should know seeing as I've practically run in the opposite direction every time I've seen him approaching. Argh! Boys! As of right now I'm swearing them off. I don't think I can take this emotional roller coaster anymore. Ginny finished this thought as she sat down in her desk.

"Psst! Ginny!" Chloe whispered. Ginny turned to face her friend.

"What?"

"I was told to give you this." She handed Ginny a note. Ginny looked at it for a moment before looking back up.

"Who's it from?" Ginny asked.

"Dunno, some random kid handed it to me on my way to class and said to give it to you."

"Oh" Ginny returned her gaze to the note and unfolded it.

Weasel -

If you know what's good for you, you won't repeat what happened in the Three Broomsticks. You're going to pay for it as it is. I don't think I need to remind you that I'm a prefect!

- Draco Malfoy

Where had she seen that handwriting before? It seemed oddly familiar. Bah! I must really be losing it. Ginny rolled her eyes and set the note on her desk. Pulling out her wand, she set the paper on fire.

"Well?" Chloe asked expectantly.

"It's just a warning from Draco Malfoy. He must be too scared to approach me himself. After all, he is nothing more than a spineless ferret." The two girls began to giggle. Ginny rested her head on the desk as she doubled over in laughter.

"Do you smell smoke?" Chloe asked.

Ginny stopped giggling and began screaming. She had forgotten about the burning paper and now the bottom of her waist-length hair was on fire.

"Miss Weasley, would you please . . ." McGonagall said looking up from her desk. Her voice died when she saw Ginny's head on fire. "Sweet Mother of Merlin!" she muttered as she pushed her way through the students who were now backing away from Ginny.

"Aquarius!" she said and a fountain of water poured from her wand and onto Ginny's head. The fire was immediately extinguished.

"My hair! My hair!" Ginny cried as she pulled on the dark, brittle locks.

"Just be grateful it was only your hair, Miss Weasley," McGonagall pointed out. "You had better go to the hospital wing and see if Madame Pomfrey has anything to help your hair and get checked for possible burns."

"Yes Professor," Ginny muttered as she tried to regain her composure.

"Playing with fire," Madame Pomfrey muttered as she used her wand to cut away the dead hair. "What will be next? And do I look like a hair stylist?"

"I didn't mean to," Ginny said.

"I know dearie," she heard the nurse's voice soften. "but still, fire! What were you doing?"

"Burning a note"

"A note? You nearly got third degree burns over a note?"

Ginny sighed. As if losing ten inches of her hair just as it had reached the length she had desired wasn't bad enough! Now she had to listen to Madame Pomfrey lecture her on fire safety.

"Well, that's the best I can do." Madame Pomfrey said putting her wand away. "Now I'm going to give you this hair potion. I want you to use it twice a week. It should help return your hair to a healthy state. Don't stop using it until the bottle is empty."

Ginny nodded as she stood up. Taking the potion and thanking Madame Pomfrey, she left the hospital wing.

Draco looked up from his lunch just in time to see the littlest Weasley enter the Great Hall. Had she done something to her hair? It looked shorter.

"Oh, there's that Ginny Weasley," Pansy snickered when she saw who Draco was looking at. "I can't believe that moron set her own hair on fire."

Draco turned to Pansy, "She did what?"

"During her transfiguration class. I guess she got a note that upset her and set it on fire. The idiot ended up setting her hair on fire along with it."

Draco smirked. He knew what that note had said and who it had been from. Maybe I've finally broken the little weasel. Maybe now I'll get the reaction I want out of her. Deciding to test this newfound power that he thought he had obtained Draco rose and sauntered over to the Gryffindor table.

"Ginny!" Amber exclaimed when she saw her friend. "You look great! I love what you've done to your hair."

"You mean you love that I torched it?"

"No, but I think you look better with it this length. I mean, no offense or anything, but I kind of thought your extra-long hair made you look like a little girl."

"Oh" Ginny had thought that too, but she also knew that Cho had long hair. That's why she'd decided not to cut her hair until it was longer than Cho's. Obviously that plan hadn't worked.

"Thanks," she said as a Ravenclaw boy whistled, "I guess you're not the only one."

"That's just Clinton Barry," Jackson said, "He whistles at any half-decent looking girl."

Ginny put her hands on her hips, "Are you saying I'm ugly?"

"What?" Jackson's eyes widened. "N-no, Gin, you're, um, you're . . ."

"I'm waiting," she said folding her arms across her chest. Ginny tried to hide her smile. She loved giving Jackson a hard time because he always thought she was serious.

"You're beautiful!" He finally blurted out. "There! You happy?!"

"Immensely," Ginny beamed.

"Well, people have always said the Weasleys have flaming red hair," a voice came from behind, "but I never knew they meant it literally."

"What do you want, Malfoy?" Ginny sighed impatiently as she turned to look at him.

Draco smirked. "I just heard my little note upset you so much that you set your hair on fire. I came to see the result." He gave her hair a once over. "Yes, it is as bad as I heard."

"Stuff it Malfoy," she said clenching her fists. "The only thing your note did was help me in making a decision. I've been considering cutting my hair for some time now." She added with a flip of her hair.

Draco's smirk was replaced with a scowl. "Well, it certainly didn't help with your appearance any." Ginny could tell he was running out of insults fast. Just then Dean Thomas walked by.

"Looking good Ginny," he said when he saw her. Now it was Ginny's turn to smirk.

"Obviously not everyone shares your opinion Malfoy," she said, "and seeing as I don't really care about your opinion I guess your walk over here was in vain. Bye, bye." She gave him a wave as she turned back to her lunch.

Draco stood behind her for a moment before stalking back to his own table. The little redhead had done it to him again! She had effectively insulted and brushed him off leaving him speechless yet again! You have to admire her spunk. A voice inside his head said. No!, I don't admire anything about her! I don't want to. She's nothing more than a poor little weasel! Returning to his food, Draco stirred it around with his fork before deciding he had lost his appetite. Rising from the table he went to the Slytherin common room. He still had to reply to V's letter. Sitting at a table he pulled out a roll of parchment and dipped his quill in ink.

V

I'm sorry to hear you had such a horrible day. Whoever the boy you like is, he's undeserving of you if he doesn't recognize what a great girl you are and what he's missing out on. As for the bully, he deserves to have the cruciatus curse performed on him if he said something horrible enough to make you pull your wand on him.

Draco paused here. What was he saying? Wasn't he just like this bully if he had gotten the little weasel to pull her wand on him? Did he, like this bully, deserve the cruciatus curse? How could he send this to V when he was just like this bully? He was such a hypocrite. Bloody conscience! He thought. Looking at the letter once more, he ripped it off the roll, crumpled it up, and threw it in the wastebasket. Dipping his quill again, he began another letter.

Ginny was sitting at breakfast alone the next morning. She had slept in and reached the Great Hall with ten minutes of breakfast left. She looked up when she heard flapping wings and recognized D's owl. Ginny smiled and offered the owl a bit of bacon before taking the letter. After it had flown away Ginny opened the letter.

V

I'm sorry to hear you had such a terrible day. Your crush must be a complete space case if he's asking you for advice about another girl. No offense. As for the bully, well, I have a confession to make. I'm kind of a bully myself. In fact, I had a wand pulled on me the same day I got your letter. Your letter caused me to stop and think about the way I treat people. I was going to do something awful to the girl who humiliated me, but for you I will refrain since I'm sure you wouldn't approve. I probably won't reform my ways, but I just wanted you to know that, even if that guy never likes you, you have had an effect on someone. Don't go changing for someone who doesn't like you for you. Wow, that was a bit preachy wasn't it? Sorry about that. Anyway, write back soon.

D

Ginny smiled as she read the letter. True, she was a bit disappointed that he was a bully, but the fact that he had actually admitted to himself and to her that he did treat people unfairly gave her hope. Draco Malfoy would never do that. He had too much pride to admit to himself, and especially not to someone else, that he was a slimy git.