This is sort of a filler chapter, not any really exciting developments in it. I'm really looking forward to the next two chapters though. Friday will be the next update, so be sure to get on here then :)

Thanks to the following for your reviews!

Pimberlee, my first reviewer!

marinka

OnMyHighHorse, for most reviews :)

The three guests

and The Other Side of Sanity

Thanks guys! Really appreciate it ;)

Days passed, and the weather turned bitterly cold. Everywhere students looked, snow blanketed the ground, giving the school and the surrounding regions a strangely youthful look. Ginny glanced out the window in the Transfiguration classroom to the howling winds outside.

It seemed as if a blizzard had made Hogwarts its permanent residence. Once again, the crimson haired teenager was thankful that all the castle's windows had been charmed to keep out the snow and cold. A shiver coursed through her and she snuggled further into her thick robes.

The sudden slamming of a heavy book on her desk caused Ginny to jump in her chair and jerk her gaze away from the window. Professor McGonagall stood in front of her desk, a reproving look in her stern eyes.

"Would it be too much trouble, Ms. Weasley, for you to actually pay attention in my class? I'm terribly sorry if I'm wasting your time. If you do not feel that you need this class, please remember that you are free to leave anytime you wish," she said in a piercing tone.

Ginny knew that the older witch was merely being cynical, and if she did try to leave, then McGonagall would drown her in detentions before she could say 'oops'. The teenager was already up to her eyeballs in them, so she was not looking any more to add on to her total.

The other students in the class were deathly silent, not daring to make a peep in fear of the older witch's wrath. The bravest ones attempted a smirk, but hastily wiped it off when McGonagall turned her glare on them.

Ginny meekly apologized, silently cursing herself for getting into so much trouble this early in the year. The rest of the class time, she forced herself to pay attention to Professor McGonagall. Honestly though, who cares about learning how to turn matchboxes into mice and back again? Just how would that help Ginny in life? Exactly. It wouldn't.

As soon as the bell rang, all the students scrambled to collect their things and get out of range of the terrifying professor. Ginny was trying to make her way through the crowd and to her next class when McGonagall called her back. She reluctantly turned around and trudged to the front of the room. "Yes Professor?" she asked cautiously. She knew exactly what McGonagall wanted to talk about.

The older witch merely gazed at her from behind the desk, her hands folded elegantly on top of the hardwood table. The intensity of the stare made Ginny fidget, the heavy books almost sliding out of her hands. When the witch finally spoke, she did so in a tone so soft that Ginny had to strain to catch all her words.

"Ms. Weasley, I've noticed that this year you have been much more absentminded, not to mention reckless," she added, hinting at Ginny's decision to skip classes in favor of going flying with Malfoy. The older witch's lips pressed into a thin white line, showing her disapproval of such an action.

The reminder of that fateful day made Ginny wince. It was bad enough having to spend every evening with him, but for McGonagall to bring it up again? Now, that was just cruel!

"If there is something bothering you, I wish you would talk to someone about it. I'm here all the time, and I hope you feel like you can speak frankly with me," McGonagall continued in a questioning tone.

She knew that something was wrong with the young woman, but she just didn't know what. Yes, her brother had been killed, but surely that wasn't still affecting her this badly. Whatever it was, she truly hoped that the girl would talk to someone that would listen and understand her.

Ginny averted her brown eyes and chewed her lower lip in thought. There wasn't anything wrong with her. Sure, she was more distracted lately, and her temper had grown, if that was even possible. But, surely that was just left over emotion from the war and pressure from all her schoolwork.

It wasn't like a certain someone was on her mind all the time. Nope, Ginny was defiantly not thinking of the snarky git. Not at all.

A phrase she had heard once drifted through her mind at that point. She wasn't sure of the exact words, but she remembered the gist of it.

Me thinks doth protest too much.

"Professor, thank you for caring, but I'm fine. Honestly! I'm just a little tired that's all," Ginny assured her teacher with an overly bright smile. McGonagall didn't look convinced, but finally let her go to her next class with a signed note explaining why she was late.