What was she talking about? Of course this was no joke! He did not stoop to making cheap pranks. Well, except for that brief instance with the garters. . .but that was an entirely different matter. Lupin had had that coming to him for years.

Kissing someone was different. Kissing someone was serious, didn't she see that? And what was she saying? Did she mean she would not mind kissing him, if it were no joke? He certainly hoped so, because humor was the farthest thing from his mind at the moment.

" Joke! I am not joking with you. . .Ginny. I believe I am falling in love with you."

She choked on her own tea, completely taken by surprise. He had to reach across the table and thump her soundly on the back; despite her wheezing protests. When she could at last draw a complete breath she had no words to say. For the longest time she just sat staring at him. She had heard those words often, and from the lips of many different men and boys, but never had she thought to hear them uttered by Professor Snape. She couldn't imagine him saying those words to anyone, let alone herself. . . surely he was the last person on earth capable of that emotion!

But he did not lower his gaze He sat defiantly on his side of her table, defending his right to exist. She could not deny that he looked sincere. . .but of course, he was a spy. He was, no doubt, capable of making people believe him. . .but she was yet to fall into that trap so readily.

" How do you know, that you are falling in love?" she asked.

" I don't know that I am falling in love, I said that I believe I am falling in love, and in my opinion there is still a vast amount of difference."

" Those are not exactly endearing words." she pointed out.

" They are the truth, and you'll get no less from me. "

" But why do you. . .believe you are falling in love?" she persisted.

" Because every since that first night I saw you home, You have been stuck in my head, and I cannot flush you out."

" Flush me out. That is charming." she bit back a wry smile. Actually, his feeble, yet frank words, were more intriguing than the practiced, buttery prose she had heard in the past. They were certainly not the most common lines.

" I thought about you all night, all morning, all during the day. It seemed as though I had never noticed you before. I hadn't actually, you were just another Weasley. . .but suddenly, that night at the meeting, I just became aware of how...how..."

" 'Real' I was? " she offered.

" Yes."

" I see. In fact I am beginning to see very clearly. Now try to think. . .that night that we were at the ' meeting ', where Bill gave you the coins, did you, by any chance, eat something offered to you by Fred and George?"

He thought for a moment.

" No."

" Are you certain? You didn't take anything from one of them? A candy or a cup of tea? I wouldn't put it past them to try something like this twice."

'' Have they done it before?"

She narrowed her eyes.

" Yes. . .remember Remus and Hermione?"

" Oh that. No...I don't believe i took anything...Wait a moment. No."

" What?"

" Well, I did eat a piece of candy, but it was not they who gave it to me. . ."

" Who gave it to you?"

'' Actually, it was Harry Potter."

" Harry? Are you sure?"

'' Yes. The scruffy imbecile with glasses and a scar on his head...Harry."

" But Harry couldn't charm his way out of a broom closet! How would he have managed something like that!" she mused.

" Then perhaps it was not him."

" No. . .I think it might have been. Do you recall what the candy looked like?"

" It was yellow, and about this size" he showed her with his hands.

She pursed her lips and nodded.

" Yes...just as I suspected. A few weeks ago, Fred said that Charlie stopped by the store and bought an entire carton of those canary cremes. Right after Hermione's incident with the cauldron. Then, Harry and Ron seemed to be very thick with each other over some secret. "

" And? ' he demanded

" A week or two ago, Charlie made a big production of offering everyone a sweet, and he fed one intentionally to Tonks! Aha! So that is what happened, that fink! He tricked her." Ginny laughed,

" What are you talking about?"

" Harry and Ron must have devised a love spell for Fred and George's Canary Cremes. . .by the way, it is very fortunate for you that you did not turn into a large yellow bird. Charlie gave one to Tonks, and she fell for; therefore, they must have given you one of the charmed candies as well! That's it! It is probably just one of their spells!"

" Is that a good thing?"

" Well, I don't know. I wasn't aware that Harry and Ron could even do charms, let alone successful ones. It will probably wear off in a day or two."

" It has been three weeks!"

" You're a Potion's Master, you could try to cure yourself. Or go to Madam Pomfrey."

" Maybe I don't want to be cured."

" You're not serious! " she laughed.

" I am. I feel better than I have in ages, and if you would just co-operate, my life would be perfect. "

" Your life, but what about mine?''

" Well...what about it? Don't you like me?"

" I...I...never thought about you before. I mean, you never seemed like someone who would be interested in a relationship."

" I never was before."

' And I am telling you, it is just a spell. A rather stubborn one, but a spell just the same. You'll grow out of it, and then where would I be?"

" You could be in a huge silk-sheeted bed at Snape Manor..." he smirked. leaning over the table.

She drew back, watching him warily.

He sighed, running his hand through his hair.

" What can I do to prove to you that I am sincere?" he demanded, looking suddenly tired and defeated.

He really did not look as though he had slept.

She tilted her head, studying him while she pondered this dilemma. She could just send him away. . .it would be easy enough. But there was a sincerity that she appreciated in his manner. Even intoxicated by whatever spell Harry and Ron had socked to him, he was not resorting to romantic gushing's, nor was he persisting in his earlier attempts to embrace her. She had known a few others who would not have stopped at just a knee in the groin.

" I think, Professor. . . "

" Call me by my name"

" I think, then, Severus that you should do just that. Try to prove that you love me. "

" What? Prove it to you? After I said I love you?"

" Anyone can say those words. I am speaking of proving it in other ways. Show me."

" How? What is it you want?" he raised his voice a little.

" Un-uh. . .use your creativity. . .if you can." she added the jibe, not to be cruel, but to bait him in further. She wanted to see if he were truly sincere. If he could still try, after being angry, and after being denied. . .then she would start to believe him.

" You want me to prove it? Fine I will!" he shouted suddenly. " I'll show you, you little brat. I bet I know fifty ways to prove it!''

" Twenty would suffice, but they have to be good enough for me to believe."

He stood up from the table, glowering.

" Where are you going?" she asked.

" Home. If it's all right with you. May I have my wand, Miss Weasley?" he held out a long pale hand.

She gave the wand back to him, and he tucked it into his robes, turning to leave.

" What, no goodbye kiss? " she asked.

" No thank you. The last one is still reverberating through my body. " he opened her front door and stepped outside before he stopped and turned back to look at her. . .as if trying to decide whether or not he really loved her, or if he despised her. " Forget it! It just isn't WORTH it!" he exclaimed and slammed the door behind him.

Somewhere in the hall, one of her pictures fell to the ground, and the clock over the door protested with a loud ringing.

Ginny quietly cleaned up their dishes, absently wondering whether or not he would actually attempt to woo her.

What would she do if he did?

TBC