Falling For A Professor
By: foralskelse
Chapter 2: No, Please!
Ginny walked into the Great Hall the next morning with Dawn, who looked utterly pooped. Ginny smiled, "Tired?"
Dawn turned and glared at her. Ginny smiled, "What? Do I snore?"
Dawn smiled slightly at this, "No, I spent half the night writing about your predicament in my diary."
Ginny giggled and said, "Aw, I'm flattered." She brought her hand to her heart as though had she won an award.
Dawn rolled her eyes and they sat down with Kiki and Xander. Ginny's stomach let out a large growl which caused the three sitting around her to look up from their plates as she grabbed a muffin, broke it in half, covered it with butter, and devoured half of it in one bite. They all stared at her. "What?" she said through a mouth full of chocolate chip, "I didn't eat much last night."
The disgusted silence was broken when Colin walked over to them and passed out their schedules. "Today's Wednesday, right?" Colin asked.
"No, Tuesday," Dawn said, scanning the paper until she got to the current day. "Herbology first."
"Then we have Divination." Kiki said to Xander and Ginny.
"We have Muggle studies," Dawn said to Colin. Ginny grinned to herself, Colin, a muggle-born, only took Muggle Studies in his 3rd year because he had a huge crush on Dawn. Ginny was sure that he still had it.
"Then," Colin said looking at Ginny, "after Lunch, look." They all skimmed till they reached the place where it said what their last class on Tuesday was.
Ginny blushed and her eyes grew wide as she looked up at the teacher's table to see Harry eating a bagel. "Defense Against the Dark Arts," Ginny sighed.
"We have him again on Thursday." Dawn said.
"Thank Merlin we only have two classes on Friday. Look at Monday and Wednesday. They are packed with classes. We must be doing five classes on just one day." Kiki tossed her timetable in her bag and sighed.
Ginny finished the rest of her muffin and got up with the rest of her friends to head for the green houses.
Ginny left the North Tower, wiping her forehead on her sleeve. "Why can't she just open a window?" Xander said as he, too, dried his sweat drenched face.
"If she is a real Seer, can't she See that we are burning up in there?" Ginny growled.
"After walking up all those flights of stairs, just getting over a hot summer, and have to be trapped up there, does she not know that heat rises?" Kiki said, compact in hand and fixing her make-up.
They entered the Great Hall still ranting about their divination lesson.
"So," Xander said, sitting down across from Ginny like he did the night before, "who is the lucky guy going to be?"
"What?" Ginny asked while putting noodles on her plate.
"Your new boyfriend?" Xander leaned over and put his hand on her forehead, "Don't you remember?"
Ginny pushed his hand away from her face, "Well, nobody is really that appealing."
"What you mean is, 'Nobody is as appealing as Harry Potter,'" Colin supplied.
"Thank you, Colin," Ginny said very loudly and her trade mark sarcastic tone.
Ginny lingered behind. She didn't want to go to Harry's class. She didn't want to move at all. The bell chimed to tell them they had five minutes to go up three flights of stairs. Ginny finally agreed to get up and they jogged up to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom.
As they walked down the corridor, Ginny noticed the door was open. She waited until the rest of her friends went in, then she did. Harry wasn't in there.
Ginny found the last seat, which was in the center of the room. She sat at the table with Xander. Ginny took the chair on the inside of the middle aisle. The whole class was talking to each other, comparing hair styles or theories on Harry's first upcoming class when he entered the room.
"Hello Class," he said, walking to his desk, his robes billowing behind him. Ginny looked down quickly. Her stomach gave a lurch and she was blushing.
"Hello, Professor," the class chorused.
"Hello, Professor," Ginny said, a little off. Harry looked up and smiled at her. She felt that feeling again. The heat rose to her face as he watched her. He looked amused and winked at her.
Xander touched Ginny's shoulder. "Three," she whispered.
"What?" Xander asked, confused.
Ginny looked at him, "He winked at me three times."
"Ginny, in the words of Kiki, 'You are so pathetic.'" Xander and Ginny giggled.
"Alright," Harry said, grabbing a quill and sitting on the edge of his desk. The girls in the class sighed. "I will do the roll so I can try and learn your names." He picked up the piece of parchment next to him. "Baker, Ralph." He scanned the class until he found the outstretched hand.
Harry nodded to Ralph and continued. "Cummings, Sara."
Sara, the girl who yesterday barked at Ginny and her friends in the dorm, raised her dainty hand and said, "Right here, Professor." Harry scanned the room again for the voice and found her in the front row.
"Thank you, Miss Cummings." He returned to the list and continued to call out names and scan the crowd. "Creevey, Colin." Ginny was surprised he had to look, but Colin was still small so she didn't blame him. When he called out Dawn's name she nearly died of laugher. Colin had to pat her back and calm her down to get her to stop.
Harry continued to call name after name. "Jeffory, Rayen?" Harry called out.
Xander raised his hand, "It's Xander, like R-hi-an,"
Harry nodded. "Thank you, Xander." Xander nodded as if to tell Harry, 'That's right.'
Harry kept calling out names and scanning the room. Ginny was watching him with intense eyes.
She noticed how he would give a polite smile at the class and how he didn't seem to notice how the girls would sigh or get excited enough to wet their pants when he called their names. 'He is very attractive,' Ginny told herself. Harry had grown, if possible, more into his looks.
Ginny watched as Harry scanned to find his place on his class roster again. She noticed how the look on his face changed to a smile and he looked up straight at Ginny. "And of course," Harry gave a cocky grin which made Ginny melt again, "Miss Ginny Weasley." He winked again.
Ginny sunk slightly in her chair as half the class (the girls to be more exact) turned to stare at her. Ginny noticed that Sara Cummings was whispering behind her hand to her friend, the other roommate. They both turned their heads sharply causing their hair to hit the faces of the people around them.
Ginny knew they were talking about her, but she didn't care. Harry was noticing her.
"Alright class," Harry said, putting the class roster next to him and placing the quill delicately on top of it. Then turning back to the class, still sitting on the corner of his desk with one leg supporting him on the ground and the other on the side of the desk, he continued, "do you have any questions about the way I teach or the curriculum?"
Sara's hand rose into the air. Harry smiled, "Miss Cott?"
"Cummings, sir." Sara corrected him.
"Sorry, Miss Cummings, you have a question?" Harry motioned to her to ask the question.
"Yes, I do," Sara turned to her friend, Elizabeth Green, who smiled widely.
"Go ahead," Harry said, trying to get her to ask it quickly.
"Are you single?" Sara's cheeks turned pink and Beth was bright red and giggling behind her hand along with most of the other girls in the class. Ginny wasn't amused, but she was curious about his answer. She looked up at him. He had a polite smile and glanced around the class, pausing at Ginny for a second before turning back to Sara.
"Well," he smiled, "it wasn't quite what I was expecting but, yes, I am single." Even more giggling occurred this time. Harry stood up and went behind his desk then looked up. "Well, maybe I should show an example of my teaching method." Harry paused and waited for the class to quiet down more.
"A few years ago I taught some of my friends how to do various jinxes, counter-curses, and ways to protect themselves." He looked at Ginny, "Maybe she wouldn't mind demonstrating her Patronus."
Ginny looked around at her friends who were nodding for her to go show the class. She looked back up and Harry was standing in front of her table with his hand outstretched to help her out of her chair. "Can you please come up to the front of the room, Ginny?"
Ginny slowly picked up her wand with one hand and placed her other hand in Harry's. She looked up at him. Just as she did so, the warmth from his fingers spread over her body and rushed to her face, as he led her to the front of the class. She didn't think that she was nervous about the class, it more about Harry.
"Harry I don't--" Ginny started but he turned around, let go of her hand, and shook his finger around.
"No, no, no, I am Professor Potter, Miss Weasley." Harry put the emphases on Professor.
Ginny bit her bottom lip and smiled, "Fine," she said crossing her arms. "Professor Potter," she mimicked him, "I don't think I can do a Patronus. It has been too long."
"About 3 years," Harry argued, "I am positive you can do it." He grabbed her shoulders and turned her around to face the class, who were all straining to hear them talking.
"Harry--" Ginny said but Harry shook his head. Ginny rolled her eyes dramatically, "Professor Potter." Harry nodded happily. "I still don't think--"
Harry walked over to her, "Remember," he said touching her arm and rubbing it softly and comforting her. She felt the breath get caught in her lungs and she closed her eyes slowly and looked back up at him, his breath playing on her face as he said, "Think a happy thought and the incantation is 'Expecto Patronum'. Ready?" Ginny nodded slowly. "Alright, here, do it in the center aisle. I think there is enough room, if your Patronus isn't a dragon or something." He pulled her into position and she looked at Xander, who looked completely amused.
Ginny closed her eyes and lifted her wand. 'A happy thought,' she told herself, 'It doesn't need to be a big one...A happy thought... I'm 17. An adult that's happy!' She opened her eyes and looked straight down the aisle. "Expecto Patronum!" she bellowed and the mist shot out of her wand like a water gun. The silver mist flew together in the form of a very large dog. Harry walked over to her as the dog gave a loud bark.
"I never knew it was--" Harry started.
"You never looked," Ginny said simply.
"You never told me that your Patronus was--"
"You never asked." Ginny glanced over at him and the Patronus ran around Ginny and Harry.
"Your Patronus is a giant black dog." Ginny sucked on her bottom lip and looked away.
"Sir?" Sara raised her dainty hand again.
"Yes, Miss Cummings?" Harry looked over at Sara as Ginny bent down to say good-bye to her Patronus as it faded away.
"You said that her Patronus was a giant black dog, but it was all silvery and white so it couldn't be black," she said smartly.
"So I did. Thank you Miss Cummings." Harry put a hand on Ginny's back, she felt a chill pass through her body and she looked at Harry. "Please take a seat. Twenty-five points to Gryffindor for Miss Weasley's amazing Patronus Charm." Ginny blushed all the way back to her seat.
"Well, well, well," Xander said, smiling at her. She punched him playfully and sat down.