Unfortunately, Ginny wasn't as well rested as she would have hoped the next day. Thankfully, her first class was a spare, and she bragged to a rushing Stephanie who was trying to eat breakfast as fast as she could while getting ready to go speeding off to Arithmancy.
"Lucky bitch," said Stephanie, adjusting her pentagram necklace and fixing her black and purple hair using the back of a spoon as a mirror.
"Sure am," Ginny replied, handing her a compact pocket mirror. "That's what you get for choosing a subject like Arithmancy."
"True, that," Stephanie agreed, now expertly applying eyeliner.
"We have Defense just before break," said Ginny.
"Yeah, we finally get to meet that hot new Professor." Stephanie shoved her things into her already full bag and stood up. "See you, Gin," she said, hugging her then taking off.
A few seconds later, Anthony appeared in Stephanie's vacant seat. "Hey Ginny," he said.
"Hey, Anto," greeted Ginny. "You're not meant to be sitting here."
"I know, I know," he waved it off. "Look, I fancy Steph."
"That's no secret. She fancies you, too."
"Really?" Anthony looked surprised. "Well, anyway, I want to... you know… but I don't know how to ask her…"
"There's a Hogsmeade trip weekend after next. Ask her to that."
"But how? What do I say?"
"Say 'Hello, Steph. Would you like to go to Hogsmeade with me weekend after next?'"
"Is that all?" Anthony looked skeptical.
"That's all."
"Thanks, Gin, you're the best!"
He hugged her with one arm then dashed off. He probably had Astronomy now or something. Ginny pushed away her fruit salad she barely touched and headed towards Gryffindor Tower.
On the fifth floor she passed a very confused looking Professor Daren. Her heart skipped a beat as he looked over at her and called out.
"Excuse me, miss! Could you give me a hand."
She walked over to him. "What can I do for you, Professor Daren?"
"I was wondering if you could point me in the direction of my classroom?" He looked embarrassed. He was sexy when he was embarrassed.
"Sure." Ginny tried not to laugh. "It's on the second floor, third door to the right of the statue of Yardley Platt, in the west corridor."
Seeing him still looking unsure, she added," I have a spare now. I could show you if you like?"
"Thank you, Miss… er…"
"Ginny Weasley."
"Thank you, Ginny Weasley."
"Anytime. Unless I have a class to go to, of course."
"Of course," Professor Daren laughed, and he followed her as she set off back the way she came.
"Why didn't anyone show you where your classroom was, sir?" asked Ginny.
"They did give me instructions," he admitted. "But they were even vaguer than yours."
"In my first year," Ginny replied," I asked my older brother where the Potions classroom was, and he said, 'The dungeons'. That's all he said, somewhere in the labyrinth of corridors and secret passages. I was late for Professor Snape's class, that's horrifying for a first year!"
"Snape, wasn't he that Death E…" He stopped, unsure of whether he was supposed to be speaking of this to a student.
"Professor Daren, I was part of the group at the end of last year who fought those Death Eaters when Snape got away. Besides, everyone knows about everything here. It's Hogwarts. Though the stories do tend to get a little mixed up, so you're better of just saying it like it is."
"You fought the Death Eaters?" He sounded amazed.
"Yes, I did," replied Ginny. "Also, sir, I have Defense next. Are you going to be able to teach me anything?"
"Well, that's the advanced class for sixth years," he said. "It's mostly seventh years, you see. So, hopefully, yes."
"I hope so too," Ginny admitted. "See, I'm fine with the practical, but not so with theory. The theory behind magic just makes my head spin. I can memorize facts easily, anyone can wave a wand, but thinking is hard."
"I know what you mean," agreed Professor Daren. "Don't worry, I've been told I'm a good teacher."
They reached the classroom. Ginny said a quick goodbye and hurried off to get her books. She didn't notice Professor Daren staring at her lustily as she went.
She met Stephanie when she returned to the Defense classroom. She was there with Anthony, and she was smiling, which was a great sign. She greeted Ginny with a huge hug.
"He asked me to Hogsmeade!" she whispered excitedly.
Ginny turned to Anthony. "Finally!" she said, throwing her hands in the air. "It's about bloody time!"
"I believe swearing is against school rules, Ginny."
Professor Daren was casually leaning against the doorframe with an amused expression on his face. Ginny was unsure whether he was reprimanding her or not. He let the class inside. Anthony and Stephanie sat down in the second row to the front. Ginny sat by Stephanie and Terry sat by Anthony. Dean, Seamus, Parvati and Padma sat behind them.
"Hello, students," said Professor Daren. He introduced himself. "That's D-A-R-E-N. Dah-RENN. As you all know, this is Defense Against the Dark Arts. Can anybody tell me what this means?"
Confused, several people put up their hands.
"You, there." He was pointing at Padma. "What's your name and what's your answer."
"Padma Patil, sir," she said. "The Dark Arts are many, varied, ever-changing and eternal. Fighting them is like fighting a many-headed monster, which, each time a neck is severed, sprouts a head even fiercer and cleverer than before. You are fighting that which is unfixed, mutating, and indestructible."
"You just quoted what Snape said last year," accused Parvati.
"Did not!" exclaimed Padma, looking guilty.
"Patil…" Professor Daren mused. "One of you two is Head Girl. It's either you, Padma, because of your obvious dedication to schoolwork, or you, Padma's sister, because of your obvious desire to stick to the rules."
"Me, sir," said Padma.
"Ah. Well, while that is a good description of the Darks Arts, it was quoted word for word by your Professor Snape from Magick Moste Evile. I, on the other hand, am original in my speech. I might get a bit lost sometimes, but I don't copy. Not reprimanding you at all, Padma, it was very clever."
"Thank you, sir." Padma looked shocked.
"Well, today's lesson is on Petrification…"
It was quite a difficult lesson. Ginny could explain what Petrification was, but not how it worked, which frustrated her. Also, she had difficulty concentrating as she had barely eaten in weeks. Professor Daren noticed something was up. He asked her to stay for a minute after class after he'd assigned a truckload of homework.
"Go on," she said to her friends. "I'll catch up to you."
She approached the teacher's desk. Professor Daren was standing behind it, shuffling some pieces of parchment. He put them down and smiled at her. It was another one of those smiles that girls like Romilda Vane would swoon at. Ginny herself felt slightly weak at the knees. He was so handsome.
"Ginny, I must say I'm impressed," he told her. "You knew more about Petrification than any of the seventh years. But, as you warned, the theory, the mechanics if you will, do seem to throw you a bit."
"A lot," Ginny corrected. She felt a little light headed and needed to sit down.
"Ginny, have you eaten today?" asked Professor Daren, suddenly concerned for her health.
"I had a fruit salad at breakfast," she said, panting slightly. He conjured her a glass of water.
"How much did you eat of it?" he asked as she drank the water.
"All of it… Alright, barely any of it. A piece of apple."
"You need to eat something. You're very thin."
"Good."
"Why?"
"Because that means I'm almost on par with Fleur!"
Ginny was surprised to see tears filling her eyes. "She's so beautiful, she's so smart, and here I am, can't even grasp how a simple switching spell works!"
"Ginny, listen to me," Professor Daren ordered. "You are beautiful. You are very clever. You are just as good as this 'Fleur' character. Who is she, a classmate?"
Ginny shook her head. "My brother's new wife," she said, wiping her eyes. She stood up.
"I'm sorry, sir," she said. "I don't know what's wrong. Thank you for the water."
"I try to be here for all my students, Ginny," he replied kindly. "It's okay. Sit down, I'm not finished yet."
She sat down, shaking slightly.
"I just waned to say, if you ever need any help with your school work, not just Defense, feel free to ask me. I have very little life, I'll usually be here or in my office. If not, well… I'm sure you'll find me."
"Thank you, sir."
"About the homework… It's fact-based, about what the spell does, and the history of it. You'll do fine, but if you have any trouble, come see me.
"Alright, sir."
"Now you go join your friends."
Ginny left feeling a lot better. She headed downstairs to the courtyard where her friends were. They questioned her about her what they spoke about for so long, but she just said it was about the night Dumbledore died. They bought her story. Ginny didn't know why she didn't want anyone to know what she and Daren really talked about.