Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter! You're all very encouraging, and you inspire me to write and update more quickly! So without further ado, here's Chapter 28 – note the time jump, and please read the Author's Note at the end.

Chapter 28: Crossroads, or All We Have in Common

Two years later

Twenty-four-year-old Harry Potter rubbed the back of his neck agitatedly, glaring at the file before him.

"Trying to solve it by pure force of will?" Ron said amusedly from the desk opposite.

"You never know, it might work," he replied, but he shoved the red folder away with a frustrated grunt and sat back in his chair.

"Don't worry, mate," Ron said genially, "Forensics is on it. I'm sure they'll get us a lead."

"I just know we're missing something about these notes they leave at the scene…some pattern…but I can't quite…." He sighed again and shook himself. They were trying to track down a gang responsible for a series of break-ins in central London. But so far, they'd had no luck, and the criminals were getting more daring, taking more valuable property with each successive robbery.

"Well, you know what they say…," Ron replied. "Shake it off, have a drink, look at it later."

Harry raised his eyebrows skeptically, the corners of his mouth turning up. "The only person who says that is you."

"And look where it's gotten me," the red-head returned easily, "Steady work, good health, and," he shot Harry a significant look, "A lovely wife to spend my evenings with."

"Oh, not this again," Harry said, rolling his eyes.

"I'm just saying," Ron replied, putting up his hands in a conciliatory gesture. "It wouldn't kill you to go on a date every once in a while."

"I go on plenty of dates!" he protested.

"You're right," Ron conceded, throwing his feet up on his desk and leaning far back in his chair. "It wouldn't kill you to go on a second date every once in a while. Or to get a steady girlfriend, for that matter."

Harry shot him a glare; Ron just smirked. His best friend had him, of course. Harry went on plenty of casual first dates with friends of friends, girls he met through work…hell, he even went out with Muggle women every once in a while. But of those, he'd probably asked two or three to go out again, and it never went any further than that.

"Well, I'm busy with work," he said.

"Granted," Ron replied, "But the rest of us manage somehow."

"You know I have a bigger caseload than you do," Harry answered, "And anyway, women don't take well to the amount I'm gone and the kinds of cases I do."

"Excuses," Ron quipped. "And anyway, it's not 'women.' It's one woman, who happens to be my sister, and have you actually been around any of these women long enough to ask them if they have a problem with your job? No? I thought not."

Harry rolled his eyes. Ron was nothing if not persistent. "Well then I'm happy as I am, thanks very much," he said, and he punctuated the statement with a firm look to warn Ron away from the subject.

"All right, all right," Ron said, raising his hands again. "But I'm just saying. Maybe you should try dating another Auror. There are plenty of female Aurors in our department, not to mention other countries' departments, and they definitely wouldn't have a problem with your line of work."

Harry shrugged. Ron was right, naturally. It was all excuses, but he wasn't about to tell Ron what he'd been thinking lately. He'd made a decision, and he just had one loose end to tie up to confirm that it was the right one. "Well, I suppose I've received my weekly lecture, then?" he said finally, grinning amusedly across the two desks.

"Exactly," Ron said, grinning back. "Hermione's got next week."

"Hey, Ron!" They both turned to look at Ben Wilmsby, who was sitting a couple desks away. "Your hot lunch date's here."

"You are aware she's his sister, right?" Cathy Kipling said from the desk beside Harry's.

"Yeah, Wilms, you better watch it," Ron said, wagging a warning finger at him as he swung his legs off the desk.

"Not that I'm not flattered."

Harry's gaze darted to the doorway. Ginny Weasley was leaning against the threshold, eyebrows raised and an amused grin on her lips.

He didn't see her very often – they both spent Christmas at the Burrow, of course, but he was on missions a lot and hadn't made it to many Weasley family dinners over the past two years. To be entirely honest, for the first few months, he'd taken to volunteering for weekend cases just to avoid going. The pained expression that occasionally broke through Ginny's carefully constructed demeanor had mirrored his own feelings too precisely, and the vaguely accusatory looks from her brothers had just added insult to injury. And after those first few months, it had just become habit to find something else to do with his Sundays.

Two months ago, he'd heard from Hermione that McGonagall had recommended Ginny for an opening in the Ministry's Education Policy Department, and he'd been seeing more of her lately since she'd taken the post and started working two floors up. She and Ron had lunch every once in a while.

She'd cut her hair short after they broke up. It fell just a few inches below her chin now. He'd always loved her hair long, but he had to admit that she looked great this way. And she dressed more formally now that she worked at the Ministry – dark slacks and a pale blue sweater.

"Ready to go, Ron?" she was saying.

"Yep, gimme two seconds. I just have to lock this file up." He brandished the red file before him and bounded off toward the heavily-warded file room.

She turned to him and Harry smiled tightly. "Hi, Harry, how are you? Ron mentioned you just got back from a mission?" she said politely.

"Yeah, it's always nice to be home after a month away," he replied. She nodded and he cleared his throat. "How are you? How's the new job?"

She smiled brightly at that. "It's going really well, thanks for asking. I like it a lot."

He grinned back.

"All right," Ron said, striding back into the room. "Where are we going? Cafeteria?"

"I've only been here two months, but even I know not to eat in the cafeteria," Ginny laughed.

"We'll find somewhere else then," Ron chuckled. "See you later, mate." He gave Harry and quick nod and they disappeared out the door.

Harry leaned back in his chair, feeling his muscles relax. He hadn't realized how tense he'd been for the past few minutes. He looked at his watch and pushed back his chair. Now was as good a time as any to tie up that loose end. He didn't relish the prospect, but seeing Ginny had reinforced his conviction. He needed to do this.

"Got a date too, Potter?" Cathy asked good-naturedly as he stood and grabbed his coat and wand.

Harry snorted. "Definitely not a date. More of a meeting. An important one."

She raised her eyebrows at him. "Well, good luck then," she said amusedly.

"Thanks."

He took the elevator down to the lobby and swung his coat around him as he ventured out of the building and into the winter cold. He made his way along the London streets and through the Leaky Cauldron into Diagon Alley. He ignored the stares he got as he made his way down the Alley. He was glad that the tabloids at least had backed off after he and Ginny had broken up. They still printed pieces every time he went on a date with a new girl, but it was nothing like the media frenzy of two years ago. He supposed that they were all rather boring without that bloody "love triangle" trash, and the thought made him smile ironically.

The interior of Gringotts was warmed to a comfortable temperature, and Harry shed his coat and swung it easily over his arm as he crossed the marble floor to the set of elevators at the end of the room. He pressed the button for the topmost floor – of course he worked in the penthouse, the git.

The elevator deposited him in a pristine lobby, and the information on a shiny bronze placard directed him to the end of a long hallway. The offices he passed were much more spacious and neater than the unmitigated chaos of the Auror Department. Finally, he came to a wide waiting area before the corner office and strode confidently up to the witch seated at a desk before the door – Ingrid Jones, Secretary, according to the little sign on her desk.

"Is he in?" he asked shortly, glancing at the door.

She looked up, recognized him, and immediately flushed. She cleared her throat. "No…," she stammered. "He's at a meeting. He'll be back soon…."

Harry nodded. "I'll wait." He sank down onto one of the armchairs across from her desk, trying to ignore the fact that Ingrid was getting more and more red with each moment he stayed there.

He didn't have to wait long.

Seven minutes later, the man in question strode into the room, a scowl on his face. "Ingrid, can you please let Higgins know that the deal fell through?" he said, barely glancing at her as he opened the door to his office. "He'll need to draw up a new contract."

"Of course, Sir," she said. "But you…you have a visitor…."

He paused and turned with his hand on his office doorknob. To anyone else, he would've looked unfazed at the sight of Harry Potter in his office waiting room, but Harry, who had had years of experience reading people, saw his expression harden ever-so-slightly. "Potter," he said neutrally, but there was a guarded edge to his voice.

Harry nodded back shortly. "Malfoy. We need to talk."

Draco Malfoy hesitated. He held Potter's gaze for a long moment, trying to discern what this could be about. The two of them had no outstanding business. Hell, he hadn't seen Potter in years, except in the papers, of course. And this certainly wasn't a friendly visit; they didn't even like each other. They had only ever had one thing in common, and that had ended for both of them years ago.

But Potter looked serious, so finally his gaze flicked to Ingrid. "Cancel my one o'clock meeting, please." Then he gestured for the other man to precede him into his office and shut the door firmly behind them.

He crossed to the other side of his desk and sat down. "So what is this about?" he said sharply, raising his eyebrows.

Harry paused. "I heard about your father last year," he said finally, sitting slowly into one of the armchairs opposite. "I'm sorry."

Draco was a little caught off guard by this, but he didn't let it show on his face. "I appreciate that," he nodded, "But I hardly think you've come to offer condolences on my father's death a year after the fact."

"I have some questions I want answered," Harry replied, and Draco was a little miffed that he wasn't more fazed by the rudeness.

"About what?" he asked, though he was fairly certain where this was going.

"You and Ginny," Harry said, and again, Draco was rather surprised at the directness.

He met Potter's eyes and shook his head. "Unfortunately, I don't particularly want to dredge all that up again. And even if I did, Potter," he added, "you're the last person I would want to discuss it with."

Harry snorted. "Point taken." He fell silent for a moment, and Draco just regarded him, eyebrows raised challengingly. The tension in the room was palpable. Finally, Harry sat forward in his chair. "You know, Malfoy," he said, "I hated you from the first time we met in Diagon Alley before First Year."

Despite himself, Draco felt the corners of his mouth twitch with amusement. "You're one of the best Aurors in the department and that's your technique for getting information out of people?" he laughed. "Aren't you supposed to flatter me, make me think you're my friend, all that?"

Potter grinned. "Threatening them at wand point works just as well," he said.

"I hope that's not in the cards this afternoon."

"No," Harry replied, chuckling. "Not that I didn't consider it."

Draco smirked and sat back comfortably in his chair. The tension had dissipated somewhat.

"But as much as I hated you at school, I never saw you as a competitor. No, Voldemort was the real threat. You were just a bully. So when I came home and saw you with her, it was like a bloody punch in the gut."

Draco raised his eyebrows. He didn't know what to say. This was far more honest, personal information than he had ever expected to hear from Harry Potter. "You're breaking my heart, Potter," he said sarcastically, but he stood. "I think we're going to need a drink."

He went to the cabinet and poured two scotches, sliding one across the desk. He expected Harry to lean forward for it, but he stayed where he was and stretched his hand out to catch it just before it fell off onto the ground. Draco was impressed despite himself. Perfect hand-eye coordination.

"Thanks. And I never figured you out after that, Malfoy," Harry continued. "At first, I was sure I was still right about you and that you'd fooled her…taken advantage of her somehow." He laughed. "Even though I don't think there's a man alive who could take advantage of Ginny Weasley."

Draco smiled drily. Too true.

"But then I saw you together, and I figured I was the one who was wrong. It seemed real. And then your relationship goes up in flames, and you're exactly who I thought you were originally." Harry took a long sip of his drink. "I can usually categorize people – good or bad, right or wrong, friend or enemy – but I haven't been able to pin you down for years, and it's frustrating as hell."

He stopped speaking and took another long drink. Draco held his gaze for a moment and then nodded. "All right, Potter," he said. "But first, I'm starving. I haven't eaten all day." He pressed the speaker button. "Ingrid? Can I get lunch now, please?"

"Should I bring something for Mr. Potter?" she answered, her voice practically cooing with excitement. Draco rolled his eyes and Harry smirked.

"If you must," he replied.

"Nice girl," Harry commented.

Draco shot him a glare. "She reads too many tabloids," he replied testily.

"Speaking of tabloids," Harry answered. "I read that you're dating Daphne Greengrass's sister? What's her name?"

"Astoria. But I'm not dating her. Tabloids like to make things up, or hadn't you noticed after all these years?"

Harry rolled his eyes. "And here I thought you were one who believed what they wrote in the gossip section."

"If you're referring to me punching you in the face three years ago, I'm not sorry at all," Draco quipped, smirking. "I'd wanted to do that for years."

Just then, there was a soft knock on the door, and Ingrid bustled in with a large metal tray levitating before her. She set a plate before Draco and handed Harry the whole tray, which he balanced easily on one knee.

"Much better than the trash they feed you at the Ministry, I'm sure," he said self-satisfactorily as Potter started in on the food.

"Well, some of us don't have time to eat full steak meals for lunch," Harry countered.

They traded thinly veiled insults as they finished the food, but finally, Draco pushed his plate away and took another swig of scotch. "So I assume from the fact that you're here that she's seeing someone and you want to draw me into your little pity party?" he said, meeting Potter's eyes.

Harry glared at him. "Hardly. No, she was dating some guy she met through Fred for a while, but they broke up a couple months ago. And before that there was that American bloke she met at a pub, but that only lasted a few weeks."

Draco raised his eyebrows. "Rebound?"

"Mm, that was my analysis."

Draco nodded and took another sip of alcohol. After she and Potter had broken up, she hadn't been in the papers much anymore, and he'd been rather embarrassingly and masochistically curious about her love life.

"Do you see her much?" he asked.

Potter shrugged. "More than you."

He rolled his eyes. "Well I haven't seen her since that Ministry fundraiser two years ago, Potter, so that hardly answers my question."

"More now that she works at the Ministry…maybe once a week," Harry answered.

Draco raised his eyebrows in surprise. "She doesn't work at Hogwarts anymore?"

"You didn't know?" Harry replied, raising his eyebrows with the trace of a self-satisfied smirk on his lips. Thegit, Draco thought. "She got offered a post in the Education Policy Department…took it two months ago. She comes by to see Ron a lot. Other than that, I see her around the holidays and occasionally when I'm not working."

Draco nodded smugly. "That was always your problem, wasn't it? Working too much."

Potter just nodded, and Draco narrowed his eyes. This wasn't just about reminiscing. There was something more going on.

"So, get on with it," he said shortly. "What do you want to know."

Harry met his eyes. "Was it real?" he asked directly.

Draco didn't blink, but he felt a sharp flash of annoyance. "You're an arse. Of course it was real. Unlike you, I wasn't about to waste her time. Or my own."

He saw Potter's eyes flash angrily, but he didn't rise to the bait. "How did it start?"

"Why didn't you ask her?"

"She didn't like to talk about it."

"She pined after you for a year. But we went through a lot together. It's not that hard to piece together, Potter."

Harry nodded shortly. "And it was real enough for you to propose?"

Draco started. Potter had just said himself that Ginny never talked about their relationship, and he sure as hell hadn't told anyone about that ring.

Harry seemed to recognize the surprise. "Hermione heard you two talking about the ring that night…after the fundraiser," he explained.

Draco rolled his eyes. "Hermione Granger, amateur detective, strikes again. I should've known. But no," he added. "I never proposed."

"What?" Harry said, and for the first time, he seemed genuinely surprised.

"I bought the ring. Carried it around in my pocket for weeks. But then I found you two in bed together…so no, I never did get around to using it."

"That was nothing," Harry said. "You really shouldn't have assumed…."

"Don't get your wand in a knot, Potter. I know it was nothing. I found that out the hard way. But yes, to answer your question. It was real enough for me to want to propose."

"But not real enough to keep you from cheating on her," Harry challenged.

Draco's expression hardened. "Why all the questions, Potter? What is this really about?" he asked testily.

"Because, Malfoy," Harry replied, voice rising above the calm monotone, "I know what it's like to be in love with Ginny Weasley. She's not the kind of girl you can love by half measures. And Merlin knows I don't like you, and no one has a lower opinion of your morals than me, but it doesn't add up. You can't be in love enough to propose and then jump into bed with another woman in twenty-four hours. Not with Ginny. So either you didn't cheat on her, or you never really loved her at all. And I want to know which it is."

"But why?" Draco insisted. "Why do you want to know? Why now?"

"Just answer the bloody question, Malfoy," Potter snapped.

Draco didn't break their gaze, but his mind was racing. He knew that Potter had some kind of ulterior motive for being here, but he obviously wasn't going to get anything out of him unless he answered the question. He would have to answer. He sighed. What the hell. What did he have to lose anyway?

He exhaled heavily and opened his mouth to speak.

Author's Note: CLIFFIE...sorry! I had a lot of fun writing this chapter. I found writing Harry and Draco's perspectives really refreshing :) I would like to acknowledge that Harry and Draco's meeting was inspired by a scene in a fantastic fanfic I read a few years ago: The Devil's Triangle by fresh pickled toad. It's a really great fic (though sadly unfinished), and I definitely recommend that you check it out if you're enjoying this one…it's what got me into the Harry/Ginny/Draco triangle in the first place!

And now, important info! This story is coming to a close…it will diverge into the two endings beginning with the next chapter and after that there will only be 2-3 chapters in each ending. As many of you have guessed, there will be one Harry/Ginny ending and one Draco/Ginny ending. So here's how it's going to go: I will label the chapters "ending 1" or "ending 2" very clearly in the chapter titles. Ending 1 will be H/G and Ending 2 will be D/G, so if any of you don't want to read one of the two endings, feel free to skip around. I hope that works for everyone! And be warned, it might take me a little longer to update since I have two chapters to write so I can post simultaneously.

Please review, but once again, be gentle!