During dinner, Hermione said suddenly, "Is that Slughorn, Harry?" She pointed at the top of the table where a porky looking, elderly man was sitting and Harry nodded, "Yeah, that's him alright." Slugwhorn was grinning at Harry and the Professor waved merely at Harry-as if they had been lifelong friends. Harry waved back with a polite smile, and then continued eating.
When the feast was over, Dumbledore greeted them as usual, "Welcome, ladies and gentleman. Now, I'd like to introduce our new Potions master, Professor Horace Slughorn…" the room was silent for a second before Slughorn stood up and then everyone gave a polite round of applause. Ginny commented, "Well, at least he doesn't seem like sickly sweet Umbridge." She glanced down at her wrist and she could still see the sentences carved into her skin. Harry's was also still there too.
Slughorn waved and sat down abruptly. Hermione whispered confusedly, "If he's Potions professor then who…" but her question was answered a moment later when Dumbledore announced, "And Professor Snape has kindly offered to take the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts." The Slytherin table cheered, but they were pretty much the only ones. The four of them looked at each other in shock! Had Dumbledore completely lost it as the newspaper had been claiming for some time now? Harry's face was set in stone and he looked completely hostile. Hermione's mouth was open and even Ron looked gobsmacked. Ginny groaned and whispered, "How ironic! I literally just said he didn't look like another Umbridge!" This caused Ron and Hermione to chuckle, but Harry still remained frosty looking.

When they got up from the table, Ron and Hermione led the way to go and resume their prefect duties. Ginny whispered to Harry, "To be honest, I think its way better that you're not a prefect. That sounds really bad but you know people would just assume it's because of who you are and not because you actually deserve it. You don't need more of that negativity." Harry nodded and sighed, "I know, but it just means I'm on the outside…well I mean I was last year. I don't have to feel that way anymore though." He beamed at her and Ginny felt her heartbeat speed up a bit. She nodded in agreement, "Finally, you're realizing the benefits of having a girlfriend." He chuckled and replied, "Trust me, I know the benefits of a having a girlfriend. This is just an extra bonus-not having to feel alone." Ginny reached up an whispered in his ear, "You were never alone, even when you thought you were."

They arrived in the common room and went and sat down in their usual space by the fire. Ginny was surprised when Harry put her hand in his and squeezed it tightly. She smiled at him and rested her head against his shoulder. People were staring but she didn't care. For Harry to allow such a display of public affection meant he was serious about letting people know and that was saying something.

Ron and Hermione joined them after showing the first years around, and then sat in two armchairs beside them, as the other space on the couch had been taken by a girl in Ginny's class-Romilda Vane, and two other girls sat with her, and Ginny was annoyed to see Romilda eyeing Harry. He didn't even notice though as Hermione said impatiently, "So Harry, what happened to you on the train?" Harry leant forward and whispered so that only the three of them could hear, "Malfoy found out that I was in the compartment. He stunned me and then stood on my face." Ginny winced at the painful image that had fluttered through her mind when he said that. Ron nodded, "That explains the bloody nose." Harry nodded and whispered, "Anyway, the point is…he was telling Parkinson and Blaise that he wasn't coming back to Hogwarts next year. And why would you think that is?" Here, he glared pointedly at Hermione and Ron, but Hermione sighed, "Honestly, Harry, it could be for plenty of reasons, and Death Eater does not make the top of my list." Harry fired back irritably, "Did you see how unconcerned he was at the World Cup when the Death Eater's came and trashed the campsite? He gloated in our faces! It's because his father is one of them, Hermione, and therefore Malfoy is one of them too!"

Hermione raised her eyebrows skeptically, "I...uh…Harry, I think this is just the fact that you hate Malfoy and his whole family and you will do anything to prove the worst of them…" Harry snapped, "Hermione, are you actually defending Malfoy right now?! After everything their family has said about you and done to us?!" Here, he looked pointedly at Ginny, who ducked her head and glanced in embarrassment at the floor. Hermione sighed, "I'm not defending him, Harry. I'm just saying you sometimes like to think the worst of people."
Harry sat backwards in the couch and grumbled, "Fine then, we won't discuss this any further." Ginny put her hand on Harry's shoulder, "Look Harry, you may be right, but you have no actual proof. Have you seen the dark mark on his arm?" Harry stared angrily ahead of him but mumbled, "No." Ginny shrugged her shoulders, "So you see, we can't actually agree that he definitely is what you think he is, unless we have physical proof."
Harry seemed to relax at her words and nodded mutely. Ginny felt someone watching them, and so she turned to see Romilda Vane giving her a dirty look. She felt incredibly uncomfortable, being stared at so distastefully when she hadn't done anything wrong. They spoke a little more about Malfoy, Harry Ron, and Hermione's N.E.W.T subjects, as well as Ginny's O.W.L subjects, and Snape as the when Ginny yawned, "I'm tired. I'm going to sleep. Goodnight guys."

She nodded at all of them, and headed for her bedroom. She felt Harry's eyes on her back and she knew he was probably wondering why she hadn't kissed him on the cheek. She'd done that every night he'd been at the Burrow until it had almost become routine for them. She also felt Romilda Vane watching her as she slipped into her dormitory.

No sooner had she felt like she reached peace and quiet, when Rebecca and Julia appeared at the door behind her. Rebecca sighed, "Oh, it's you." Ginny murmured, "I could say the same thing," as she opened her trunk and pulled out her pajama's. Julia commented, "You seem to be awfully friendly with the Golden Trio recently. Any reason why?" Ginny grumbled, "Hello to you too, Julia. And are you serious, the Golden Trio?!" Rebecca nearly snarled back, "Yeah. That's what they're known as. They're always in on the action. We assumed you were trying to be a part of it." Ginny got very close to snapping and telling Rebecca to sod off, and that actually, Harry was her boyfriend. She wasn't trying to be a part of anything.

But she didn't as she tried to reign in her temper and she replied haughtily, "Well firstly, in case you didn't know, Ron is my brother, so yeah I do spend time with him. And secondly, they don't plan on it you know. You make it sound like it's all intentional and attention seeking." Rebecca turned to face her fully, with her hands on her hips and said, "Oh yeah? So how come Potter always ends up in the centre of attention?" Ginny bit her tongue and laughed menacingly, "You call him Potter now, Rebecca? I thought you liked him. I recall a day when you would do anything to get his attention…" That's when Romilda Vane walked in with her friend and smiled slyly, "Oops! Did I walk in on something? Sorry…"
There was a stone cold silence and Ginny turned her back on the other two girls, in desperate need of a shower to cool down and to clear her mind. If she had thought they'd been bitchy before, she hadn't known how wrong she was. They were the two aspects of her time at Hogwarts that she just couldn't stand. She couldn't comprehend how she'd ever been friends with them. She supposed that when you're eleven, you're willing to be friends with just about anyone. That certainly changes as you get older. You become a lot more critical. A lot more picky, and a lot more yourself.

As she hopped into the shower and felt the piping hot water relax her body, Ginny thought about what her next plan of action was with Harry. She couldn't bear it if these girls were going to taunt her the entire year. Being open about her relationship with Harry was only going to make it worse. But she knew she couldn't hide it forever. She'd just have to step up to the plate and deal with it.

The following day dragged. The first day of school seemed as though the clock slowed down to half of its normal pace. Herbology was with the Slytherin's so that sucked. Taylor Atwood and her bunch of cronies kept talking about all the parties they'd attended in the holidays. Atwood was standing opposite Ginny as they tried to collect Bubotuber pus and put them into bottles for Professor Sprout. They had all done it before so it was particularly funny when the pus slimed all over Atwood's gloved hands and she screamed like a little girl.
Care of Magical Creatures with Hagrid was a somewhat interesting affair. Hagrid wanted them to search for Bowtruckle's on the outskirts of the forest, which proved particularly difficult to find as they were so tiny. They ran around aimlessly until eventually a Hufflepuff yelled, "I've got one!" His hands cupped the small creature and everyone tried to gather around to look. By the time they got there, however, the tree animal had hopped off and scurried away.
Next was Potions and Ginny was rather looking forward to that. She was interested to meet Slughorn. On her way in, she ran into Harry who was walking out with Ron and Hermione. Hermione's hair was all frizzed out of control and Ginny couldn't help but grin at how peeved off she looked. Harry grinned at her, "Hey you. You won't believe what happened!" Ginny smiled happily and replied, "Well…Hermione doesn't look too happy…" Hermione was strutting ahead of them and hadn't even bothered to say hello to Ginny. Ron was chortling and Harry supplied, "I kind of outsmarted Hermione for once in my life!" Ginny giggled and kissed his cheek in pride, "Well, I'm certainly proud of you! I'm sure that must have been a challenge!" At that moment, Parkinson walked passed and her eyes bugged wide. She gasped to her cronies, "Oh my! Is it…Potter and Weasley?! Oh I must tell Draco!" Ginny bit her lip. She'd had enough of this rubbish from Rebecca and Julia last night, so she couldn't help it when she pulled out her wand and aimed a Bat Bogey Hex, which hit Parkinson square in the chest and sent gigantic bats flying out of her nose. Harry and Ron doubled over in laughter, "Nice shot, Gin!" Ron said, high fiving her.

Pansy screamed hysterically and the noise caused Slughorn to appear out of his office. Ginny half expected him to hand her detention there and there, but instead he chuckled, "Good Bat Bogey Hex! Who's was it? I haven't seen a good one like that in years!" Harry pointed at Ginny, and Slughorn approached her, "What's your name, my dear?" he asked kindly. Ginny smile, "Ginny Weasley, professor." He nodded happily, "And you're a friend of Mr Potter's I assume? Well, any friend of Harry's is a friend of mine. And you're in my class now? Well please, do come in!" He turned to Pansy and said, "Uh…Miss sorry, what is your name?" Pansy half choked as her friends tried to get rid of the bats, "Pansy P…P…Parkinson p…p…pr…" Slughorn nodded abruptly, "Miss Parkinson, please see yourself to the hospital wing to get that sorted out. Alright, inside please Miss Weasley." Harry winked at her as she headed inside for her first potions lesson with someone who wasn't Snape.

It turned out to be an enjoyable change. Ginny liked Slughorn's positive manner in the dreary dungeon and it lifted up her spirits quite a bit. She had also enjoyed the fact that Slughorn rather appreciated her hex on Pansy. It really made potions quite fun and exciting, for the first time ever. They brewed a Draught of Peace, which was by far one of the hardest ones they'd ever had to do before. Ginny's turned rather blue at the end and Slughorn went around and moderated each of their Potions. When he arrived at Ginny's he grinned, "Miss Weasley, I see you, like Mr Potter, are rather gifted in both hexes and potions! This potion is top notch! As a prize, you can keep it and use it at your own discretion! I suggest not more than two drops at a time! Congratulations!" Ginny grinned and thanked him, as he poured all of the potion into a vile for her. This was definitely something she would save for her O.W.L exams. She would need to hide it from Rebecca and Julia though. She wouldn't put it passed them for stealing it. Right now, they were scowling menacingly at her. Slughorn clapped, and they were forced to clap along as he added "Oh yes, and twenty points for Gryffindor!"

Ginny waltzed down to lunch as happy as a clam. Colin hurried to meet her and said, "Well done, Gin! How did you do it?" She shrugged and grinned, "I don't know. Just followed the instructions that's all. It wasn't too hard." Colin chuckled, "Funny, cause I struggled." They laughed and spoke about the lesson until they reached the entrance to the Great Hall. Harry waved her over and Colin grinned, "Is it true? That you're dating Harry?" Ginny froze. She didn't know what to say. Nobody had asked her straight like that before. She bit her lip and nodded, "Yeah. Just…don't go around telling Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee please, or as few people as we you can? We don't want to make it a big thing…" Colin was nodding before she was done speaking, "Don't worry, Gin, I won't. Your secret is safe with me." Ginny smiled and sighed in relief, "Thanks Colin. You're a good friend." He winked at her and said jokingly, "You know it!"
She walked over to the group and sat down beside Harry, and Ron chuckled, "Really brilliant Bat Bogey Hex, Gin! I wish you guys had that on video!" Ginny giggled and nodded, "I agree." Ron asked quickly, "Sooo, how was Slughorns?" Hermione was silent and Ginny guessed she was still furious with Harry for outsmarting her in Potions.

Finally, Ginny dared to ask, "Why are you so upset, Hermione?" She snarled irritably, "Ask Harry, Ginny. He's the one with the brilliant book." Ginny frowned and turned Harry, who shuffled uncomfortably in his seat and he tried to smile convincingly at her, "Just an old potions book I had t borrow from Slughorn, that's all," he said, shooting an annoyed glare at Hermione. Hermione snorted, "Oh yeah, tell Ginny how the book helped you win Felix Felicis, Harry." Ginny dropped her fork on her plate and asked in shock, "It did what? You let a book help you, Harry?" She stared at him until he caved and replied, "Ginny, Hermione is over-reacting. It's just a second-hand book with notes in the margin." Ginny held her hand out abruptly, "I want to see it."

Harry glowered at Hermione from across the table, and he gingerly handed Ginny the book. She opened it to the first page which had the title and then beneath written in curly writing: This book is the property of the Half-Blood Prince. Ginny's eyes widened and she began, "Who's the…" as Hermione finished for her, "Half-Blood Prince? I'd like to know the same." She flipped through the book to find a few scrawled notes in the side of the margin. She asked Harry, "Where did you get it?" He shrugged his shoulders moodily, like a toddler being caught doing something he shouldn't have been doing in the first place and murmured, "Slughorn's cupboard. Where else?" She rolled her eyes and retorted, "Don't get all moody with me, Harry, I'm not the one you should be angry with." She would not tolerate his grouchy attitude, especially when she wasn't the one he'd been grouchy at.
He sighed and mumbled, "Sorry Ginny," before shooting Hermione another death-stare. Ginny sighed and shrugged her shoulders, "Well, it doesn't appear magical unlike Riddle's diary…but that doesn't mean that it isn't." Hermione smirked triumphantly, as if she had just won a trophy and she gloated, "What did I say, you two? Didn't I say exactly that?" Ginny rolled her eyes and handed it back to Harry, who stuffed it in his bag and ignored her.

Ginny nodded, "Just, do me a favor and promise me you won't get too attached to it, please?" Harry stared at her and nodded, "I won't. Ginny you don't have to worry." He reached out and squeezed her hand, just as Romilda Vane walked past, with Rebecca and Julia at her side. Ginny scowled at them as they walked beyond Harry and he turned to see who she was glaring at. He frowned, "I know you don't like them, but there must be a reason for that look." She shrugged and replied, "They…uh….interrogated me about my closeness with you three last night. They also made it sounds like you planned on getting the attention all the time. I came very close to telling them you're my boyfriend." He chuckled and shook his head, "I'm sorry they're giving you a hard time. Why didn't you just tell them?"

Ginny glanced at Ron and Hermione who were having their own conversation, and replied, "Because they were already being bitchy because I was close to you, let alone because we're together. And I wasn't sure if I could." Harry chuckled, "Gin, I would be forever grateful if you did, and do it while I'm there! I'd love to see the looks on their faces…" She giggled and was about to kiss him when Pansy walked past them and Ginny yelled, "Nice trip to the hospital wing, Parkinson?" Pansy blatantly ignored her remark and continued walking in a strut to her table. Several Gryffindor's around them laughed. Apparently, the news about her Bat Bogey Hex had spread rather quickly.

Author's Note: Woohoo! So I got another chapter done before I said I would! I really miss writing when I feel like it! I often think of these really great ideas and then it's so annoying because I don't get a chance to write them down when I'm studying!

Anyway I'm really glad I got another chapter done! Thanks again to all of my lovely reviewers: anonymous, 123rachel123, guest, CastielWitchLuna and to my two new reviewers 123summer123 and Starrya47! You guys are the best as well as everyone reading this story! And guys, I'm 99% percent certain that this story will carry on until after the war! Loads of you guys are enthusiastic about that and that makes me feel enthusiastic! I can't guarantee how long it will take obviously because my future is looming and I still have a year and a half of studies left, so only time will tell! But again thank you so much to everyone for the wonderful enthusiasm! It really keeps my motivation up to write!