A/N: For the purpose of this story, Ginny's in her fifth year and Draco is in his sixth. Not that it really matters, but I figured I'd be nice and chronological about it.

Potions

~~~~~

Ginny sighed as she absentmindedly gave the contents of her cauldron a stir. She hated Potions class with a distinct passion. It was boring listening to Professor Snape ramble on about random plants and bat poo for an hour. She found herself glancing over at the clock every minute or so, longing for it to mark the end of the class. And she kept telling herself the reason she wanted to stop brewing her Confusing Concoction was simply so she could get rid of Snape.

But the nagging voice in the back of her head told her she wished for passing time for a different reason. Next in Potions were the Sixth-Year Gryffindors and Slytherins. And she always managed to run into the incoming students.

And oh, Merlin help her, it wasn’t even a Gryffindor that gave her that delicious tingle of anticipation just before he walked into the room. Ron’s inevitably insane reaction be damned, it was a Slytherin. And not just any Slytherin. The one Slytherin that she could most emphatically not fall for. The one whose father made her first year at Hogwarts a possessing hell; the one took the duty of torturing her brother upon himself.

But she supposed it was too late for that. It had crept up on her, but she looked forward to seeing him. Maybe it was that sexy smirk he always gave her when she passed, in an attempt to show superiority. Perhaps it was the Quidditch playing that had toned his body so well. Or it could have been the face he’d made when she’d beaten him in said game, thus disproving that superior smirk. Or even the fact that he would never try anything with her out of fear that she would repeat the infamous Bat Bogey Hex incident. Whatever the reason, she got those stereotypical butterflies in her stomach whenever she saw him.

When Snape finally asked the students to bring their vials to his desk for marking, thus signaling the end of class, Ginny couldn’t help but smile. The class gradually filed out, Ginny taking care to spend extra time cleaning so she would be the last one out.

She passed him as she finally exited the room, flashing him a smirk not far from his own. When he mirrored the expression, he changed a little something about the generic snarky face he usually wore. He added a wink.

Ginny’s smirk changed back to a smile as she walked contentedly off to Professor Flitwick’s room. It may have been a small gesture, but it was enough. Perhaps she wouldn’t need that Cheering Charm after all.