This was not the first time Harry Potter had broken up with Ginny Weasley. The first time had been in the summer of their sixth and fifth years, respectively, at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Then, his reason had been down to Voldemort. Now, there was no Voldemort to use as an excuse. As her boyfriend approached her, she wondered what excuse he would have for her, now.

"Do you have a moment? We need to talk."

Ginny nodded, and followed Harry to her bedroom. There, they had settled down, across from each other: Ginny, at the foot of her bed; Harry, leaning against her bedroom door.

"Ginny," began Harry. "I can't be involved with you anymore. We've got to stop seeing each other. We can't be together."

Before she spoke, Ginny let his ultimatum hang in the balance, for a few moments.

There was a note of finality in her voice, and what she said next was not a question, but a statement.

"Last time you said it was because of You-Know-Who."

"Last time, we were at Hogwarts," Harry reminded. "Now, we've graduated. Since then, I feel as if our relationship has run its' course. Perhaps it'd be better if we were apart from each other."

"I suppose I saw this coming," Ginny admitted. "Well, if you feel like we've run our course, there's nothing else for it… is there?"

"I guess not," agreed Harry. "We can still be friends, right?" he added, voice so full of hope that, for the first time in their conversation, Ginny had to smile.

"Sure," Ginny agreed.

Unlike their first break-up, they had parted ways perfectly amicably. Harry had smiled back at her, and reminded her that she was to be there for dinner tonight, or Mrs. Weasley would have her head. Ginny nodded, and without another word, let him leave her bedroom. As soon as her ex-boyfriend had shut the door behind him, however, the smile had fallen from her face. One question had remained: what was she going do to now, without Harry?

The same thing I have always done, Ginny told herself, firmly. I am a strong, independent witch. I don't need any wizard, especially not Harry.

Ginny knew it was true, but the words still felt hollow, as they echoed within her mind. It would do her no good to dwell on the break-up, so she decided to put her mind at rest by reading one of her novels, until it was time to attend dinner.

Later that evening, Ginny had joined the others for dinner. Those present were Harry, Ron, Hermione, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, George, and Ginny. The elder Weasley brothers were busy with work at the Ministry (in particular, Bill and Percy), while Charlie had gone back to Romania, for his work with dragons. Bill was an accomplished Curse-Breaker, while Percy worked within his department: the Department of International Magical Cooperation.

George had opted to stay at the Burrow in the midst of his recovery from his twin brother, Fred's, death at the Battle of Hogwarts. Fred's death had affected all Weasley children, but most of all his twin brother, who felt as if a part of him had died along with Fred that day. The only reason Ron had decided to stay at the Burrow was because Harry and Hermione were there, with them. As for Ginny, she was the last one of the family who was underaged, and required to stay at the Burrow until she had, at the very least, finished her seventh year.

As she took a seat at the dining table, Ginny looked round at her dinner companions. In spite of their breakup, Harry looked just as he always had. Ron kept sneaking glances at an unaware Hermione, who seemed more keyed-up than usual. Ginny wondered what was bothering the Muggle-born witch. George sported his usual forlon expression, eyes fixed on his plate. Ginny felt a pang of sympathy for her brother, and hoped he would find some way to be at peace with his brother's death, some day in the future.

Finally, Mrs. Weasley had arrived with dinner, and they all dug in. For awhile, there was only the sound of forks and knives clinking against dishes, until Ginny was aware of a nudge to one of her arms, across the table. In spite of herself, she felt a flicker of hope that it would be Harry, but instead of his green eyes, she looked up into the familiar brown eyes of Hermione Granger.

"Is anything wrong, Hermione?"

"As a matter of fact, there is," Hermione admitted, "But I can't tell you, here. Is there anywhere we can talk in private?"

"Of course," Ginny said with understanding. "We can talk in my bedroom. No one will follow us there. Do you want to meet after dinner?"

"That sounds fine," Hermione agreed, and they returned to their food.

But, all the while, Ginny found herself wondering why Hermione would want to talk to her in private, without even the knowledge of her friends, Harry and Ron. What was so private that Hermione felt could only be heard by Ginny's ears? A sneaking suspicion crept into her mind: I hope it's not about Harry. But then, she banished the thought, and chided herself for being so narrow-minded. Hermione was the last person who had boy troubles, Ginny told herself, and focused on finishing her dinner. Once they had, she and Hermione retired to Ginny's bedroom.

Before Ginny could say anything, Hermione had aimed her wand at the door.

"Muffliato," she said, in a clear voice. Then, she turned to Ginny and began, "You must be wondering why we're here. Headmistress McGonagall has an assignment for me."

Ginny tilted her head. What was so bad about that? she thought.

Out loud, she asked, "That's the reason for all this secrecy? Merlin, Hermione, you were acting like an Unspeakable."

"I might as well have been," Hermione said, with such bitterness that surprised Ginny. "That would have been better than what McGonagall had told me to do."

"What did she tell you to do? You're not really becoming an Unspeakable, are you?"

"No, I'm not becoming an Unspeakable. Instead, I'm going to save Harry's parents by becoming apart of the graduating class of the year 1978."

Ginny stared at her, until it became clear that Hermione was not joking. But she should have known; when had Hermione ever joked about anything?

"Is that even possible? I thought you, Ron, and Harry had destroyed the rest of the Time-Turners at the Ministry."

"Believe me, I had thought that, too, until McGonagall had presented me with a Time-Turner."

"Perhaps someone had donated it to the school."

"Perhaps. But I can tell you one thing: I am not doing this. McGonagall can find someone else. And I believe that would be you."

If Ginny had been shocked before, that was nothing to how she felt now. What was McGonagall thinking of? What was Hermione thinking of? From what Ginny had heard, Dumbledore had always said that, if a wizard were to meddle with time, bad things would happen to them, and Ginny could just imagine all the bad things that would happen, were she to accept the assignment that had originally been meant for Hermione.

Apparently, Hermione had sensed Ginny's hesitation, for she said: "I had given everything to the war. If that hadn't happened, I would have taken this job, myself. But I can't throw the rest of my life away, for some mission that doesn't even have a chance of working out."

Ginny would have felt inclined to sympathize with Hermione, if it hadn't been for the way she had acted like she had been the only one, aside from Harry, who had contributed to the war effort.

"Are you saying I sat out the war?" Ginny snapped, incensed at the accusation. "While you, Ron, and Harry did all the work? If you remember, I wasn't even allowed to be there! But I didn't let that stop me from fighting the mad old Dark witch, beside you and Luna. I had almost gotten killed!"

"I'm sorry if you feel I have underestimated your effort in the war," Hermione said quietly. "But really, you are the perfect one for the job. Who knows? Perhaps it will work out, after all."

"How do you know I would be perfect for the job, anyway? I'm not even as good a witch as you are. You know," Ginny added, trying for a smile to soften the edges of the conversation. "Brightest witch of our generation, and all that."

"Hogwash," Hermione scoffed. "How I got the silly title in the first place, I'll never know. But I do have a feeling that everything will work out."

"You still didn't answer my first question," Ginny pointed out. "How do you know it will work out?"

"I don't know," Hermione admitted. "I only have a feeling. Besides, you're the one with the connection to Harry."

Although Ginny knew exactly what Hermione had meant, she asked, "What do you mean, 'my connection to Harry'?"

"You are his girlfriend… aren't you?"

"Oh, about that… Harry and I broke up. So, I'm not his girlfriend, anymore."

By this point, Ginny realized that the conversation had taken a darker, more somber turn. For the first time, Hermione relaxed, sympathy softening her eyes. Ginny, however, glared, sparks flying in her eyes. She didn't need anyone's sympathy, lest of all, Hermione Granger's!

"That is quite a surprise; I'm sorry to hear of it," Hermione sympathized. "Realistically, it will be that much easier for you to start a new life in the past."

"How will it be any easier living in the past, than now?" Ginny grumbled, acutely aware she was just being difficult, now. She had to accept the inevitable: that she would accept the mission that Hermione had refused. "Wasn't that the beginning of the First War against You-Know-Who?"

"You mean Voldemort," Hermione corrected in a lofty tone, making Ginny roll her eyes. "Alas, yes, it was. But, as long as the calculations are correct, you should have enough time to become acquainted with the people in the past, as well as establish your position in the war, of course."

"Geez, Hermione," Ginny said, in a hushed voice. "What are you, now? Leader of the Order of the Phoenix? Is this a battle plan or a mission statement?"

Now, it was Hermione's turn to roll her eyes. "Very funny," she said, in the tone of voice that told Ginny she didn't think it was funny at all. "However, I'm not the one who is supposed to prepare you for that."

"Then, who is?"

"Headmistress McGonagall."

Disclaimer: One line from the first scene is from p. 646 of Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince, by J.K Rowling.

Author's Note: Since 2012 (I have the e-mails to prove it), I have worked on this story. I hope I will finish it by this year or the next.

This story was inspired by The Thief of Time, by the gracious Tink Wolfe, who has granted me permission to use the idea (of which, I believe she has pioneered) of someone time-traveling and becoming someone else's twin sibling.

This story, however, has an extra twist. Everyone has read the odd, "Hermione time-travels to the 1970s and falls in love with Sirius/Remus/James" story. Most people have read the less common "Hermione travels back in time and becomes the twin sister of Lily/James/Sirius/Snape/etc," story. What I mean by "an extra twist" is that, in this story, Hermione Granger will not be the one traveling back in time; Ginny Weasley is. As for the other part of the twist? You will just have to wait and see.

PS: Summary will be changed at a later date.