A/N: Sincere gratitude to all who favorited and followed the fic. Glad it's found some people who might enjoy it! An even more sincere gratitude to those who left me a thought or two after the chapter. Just makes my day!

Now that I've typed this out, though, I have to wonder if one can have varying levels of sincerity in one's gratitude. I mean, if I have more sincere gratitude for reviews, doesn't that imply my gratitude for favorites and follows isn't sincere, given the definition of the word? Which totally isn't the goal of this increasingly awkward author's note. After all, I love getting a notification about follows and favorites. It's a review of its own sort, y'know?

Bottom line: Thanks everyone! (And apparently thanks to certain people a little bit more) Okay, I'll see myself out. Enjoy this chapter.

Chapter Two: The Hunt

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"Erm…hey, Ginny."

His voice was nervous, hesitant. Ginny turned around to face him, her eyes narrowed. "You're not here to take away my drink again, are you? Because savior or not, I will hex you."

Harry managed a smile back at Ginny. "No, I'm afraid I've got a bigger problem on my mind at the moment."

Ginny's face fell, concerned and confused. Harry didn't blame her, of course. Their relationship had always consisted of light banter. Truly, he had only good memories of Ginny over the past couple of years, which were a bit hectic for Harry. What with the Voldemort-hunting and such. But Ginny had always been a bright spot when he'd returned to Hogwarts in his brief reprieves from duty. But he'd been singularly focused, then, and Ginny had not been privy to the details of his…other life.

Since the defeat of Voldemort a week earlier, Harry had started to see her differently. Having spent much time around the Weasleys celebrating, he found himself constantly drawn to her-perhaps because of their light friendship amidst such a heavy time. Or perhaps because she was gorgeous and Harry had only just noticed. In any case, she was a friend that he always had fun around but never sought out to solve problems or help him with anything important. That had always been Ron and Hermione's role.

"What is it, Harry?" she asked.

Harry opened and shut his mouth several times without speaking. How could he break this kind of news to her?

"You look like a fish, Harry. Out with it!"

"We're being married tonight!"

Now it was Ginny who looked like a fish as her eyes widened and her jaw dropped. "What now? You're getting married?"

Harry shook his head. "No, Ginny. We, you and I, are getting married. At least we are being legally bound as soon as you turn seventeen. I don't imagine there will be a wedding, or anything…I mean, I haven't set anything up. I guess it's possible some ministry official will…"

"Harry, shut up! We are not getting married! How did this happen?"

Harry looked back at her. "I've no idea. A goblin just asked me how I wanted to handle my bank vaults with my new wife, and I was like, 'nah, hold up a minute…?' He told me that there is a legally binding document in the Department of Magical Unions with our signatures on them. I never signed anything. And how did the document get made anyway?"

Ginny shook her head in a panic. "Oh Merlin. Oh…MERLIN! Harry, I don't know how that thing got signed! I never signed it!"

"You knew about the marriage papers?" Harry asked incredulously.

Ginny seemed to realize they were still standing among dozens of celebrating people who were now giving them strange looks as their voices rose. She grabbed his arm to pull him away from the masses. They made their way into a nearby office and shut the door.

"Look, Harry. It was a joke! It was two stupid girls egging each other on!"

Harry shook his head, not understanding. "What did you do?"

"You remember my horrendous crush on you my first year?" Harry nodded, so Ginny continued. "Well, I was convinced we were going to fall in love and get married, and I talked about it with Luna all the time. One time she called me out on not even being able to talk to you, so how would we ever get married? So, I said that I was so confident that I would write up a marriage contract and send it to the ministry, and wait for you to come around. There are probably a dozen of those types of licenses from girls all around the country, just waiting for you to fall for them. But, Harry, I wasn't stupid enough to sign it! And I certainly never signed your name!"

Harry shook his head in disbelief. "You wouldn't be able to forge my signature anyway. Too many magical protections on this sort of thing."

They were silent for a moment before Ginny let out an anxious scream. "Harry, we have to stop this from happening! Why at midnight?"

"Well, you've been underage, and therefore not legally able to sign yourself away to be married. Fortunately, your parents' signature didn't magically appear on the contract, too."

Unbeknownst to Harry, his and Ginny's signatures had, in fact, appeared magically, when they had sealed their sarcastic words of marriage consent with the sealing charm (magic had never been all that great at discerning sarcasm). Even had he known this and seen the irony in his statement, Harry likely would not have found it all that funny.

"Anyway," Harry continued. "I'm glad you want to put a stop to this. Dumbledore said he'd go find out what he could, so let's look for him.

The search did not take long. Before they reached the door, Dumbledore walked in, slightly out of breath. In his hands, he held a parchment. It looked very official, but as Harry looked closer, he realized a young girl's handwriting filled in the blanks left by the Ministry issued template. He glared at Ginny, who sighed loudly.

"Yup…that's the one. But that signature is not in my eleven year-old handwriting, see? That must have been in the past couple of years." Ginny shook her head in confusion.

"Mine too," Harry confirmed, and took the parchment in his hand. "Well, I guess it's time to destroy it."

Harry pulled out his wand, but was countered by a loud, "NO!" from both Ginny and Dumbledore.

Harry lowered his wand slowly. "Um….why not?"

"Harry, this contract isn't the magical bond of marriage. It is the proof of it. Destroying this contract will destroy the only way to reverse the marital bonding spell before it occurs tonight."

Harry quickly pocketed his wand and handed the parchment back to Dumbledore, not wanting to be responsible for its destruction. "So what do we do?"

Dumbledore responded quickly. "I've tried everything I can think of to undo the consent, delay the bonding, or void the contract. But it's too protected. I can't get around it. The magic of marriage is much older and more powerful than any of us could overturn. It will take a ministry official with the sole authority to command the magic."

"So let's go find him. He's bound to be here at the party, right? What's his name?"

"Kent Fendmee."

"Of course it is," Harry said with a shake of his head. He headed to the stage where he had just given a speech not twenty minutes earlier. He glanced at his watch and cringed at the late hour. It was eleven o'clock already. They had less than an hour to find this guy.

Stepping up to the microphone, Harry cleared his throat. The magnified sound calmed the room pretty quickly. "I hate to be calling in favors with my fame so quickly after earning it," Harry said with a light smile, and chuckles filled the room. "But if Kent Fendmee is present, or anyone knows where he is, can you come find me and help me out here? Thanks, and enjoy the rest of your evening."

Harry got another round of applause. He didn't know why. He wasn't sure anyone applauding him knew why they were applauding. He didn't dwell on the cultural phenomenon for too long, however, because a young woman soon approached Harry.

"Hello Harry Potter," she said, a seductive smile on her face. "I was trying to think up an excuse to come introduce myself, and you went ahead and gave me one."

She was pretty. Maybe a few years his senior. But Harry could see himself looking past that little detail if she could. He shook his head, surprised at himself for even thinking about that in a time like this. For so many years, he had all but ignored the opposite sex in his quest to defeat Voldemort. Now that that responsibility had vanished, it seemed an invisible shroud had been lifted from his libido, and he was seeing women in a new light for the first time.

"Well I'm glad to have given you the excuse," Harry said easily, and with a smile.

The woman smiled more widely. She held a glass of champagne in her hand and fingered the edge of the rim. "I've always wondered what was next for Harry Potter."

Her words were meant as some sort of opening, Harry was sure. An easy way to continue this banter. Perhaps he could respond with something like, 'Maybe we can find out Friday night. Dinner?'

But instead, the words had the opposite effect. Because not only did he hate the question, and not want to talk about his future with a complete stranger, no matter how pretty, but his immediate future hung over him like a dark cloud. He was embarrassed that his hormones had made him forget it, even for these 10 seconds.

"A tough question," he responded, repressing a sigh. "I'm in a bit of a time crunch, so maybe after I've finished, we can continue this chat?"

The woman didn't sense anything amiss, and extended her hand for Harry to shake. "Gloria Wall, and I work with Kent in the Department of Magical Unions. He had a little too much to drink, so I walked him to his office. Down on level 7."

"Thank you, Gloria," Harry said. "If this business doesn't take too long, I will come back and find you tonight. Otherwise, I'm sure I'll be at the Ministry quite a bit in the near future, and I'll have to drop by and say hello."

"That would be very nice, Mr. Potter." She turned on that note and walked away, and Harry enjoyed the view for a moment before shaking his head and turning back to where Ginny and Dumbledore had been. Ginny was watching him with an odd look on her face. Dumbledore was speaking with Professor Trelawney, rarely a good sign.

"A man betrothed, checking out other women on the eve of his Union," Ginny said with a shake of her head as Harry approached. "Tsk, tsk, Potter."

"Oh, but I promise to be faithful," Harry retorted. "Except that that woman has given me Kent's location, so I may not need to."

Ginny let out a sigh of relief, and Dumbledore glanced at Harry from his conversation with Trelawney. Harry wasn't dropping too many eaves, but it sounded like she was lecturing Dumbledore on the dangers of wooden banisters on north facing stairwells.

The poor old man.

"Well, let's go get him, then," Ginny said. Dumbledore nodded, implying he would be right behind them, as soon as Trelawney's list of perilous oddities had been shared.

They had less than an hour to make it to level 7, find the old man, and reverse the Union before it happened. So they took off for the lift in a hurry. It soon arrived, the pair stepped inside, and Harry pushed the button for level 7. As the doors were closing, Dumbledore looked up from his conversation with Trelawney with a look of panic on his face.

Harry didn't pay it much mind as the lift started its descent. "I think we would have made a ravishing couple," Ginny commented. "I just would've felt bad depriving the world of a bachelor Harry Potter."

Harry felt a smile come to his face. Despite the dire situation, Ginny was still such a fun girl. "You know, maybe we should go through with this. 'Potter marries childhood friend' isn't such a bad headline, considering it would prevent the years of headlines I'll have to deal with."

Ginny turned to him, aghast. "You would marry me to keep yourself out of the spotlight? Where is the egotistical Harry Potter I fell in love with?"

"He got engaged to you, I suppose. That'd be enough to neuter anyone's pride."

"I am quite humbling, aren't I?" Ginny asked. But before Harry could respond, the lift stopped suddenly. The doors didn't open.

"Uh oh."

Harry pulled out his wand and waved it around for a bit, casting a few detection charms he'd learned. Not knowing the foundation of the lift's magical structure, he couldn't determine what the problem was. But he knew they were stuck. And wouldn't be moving anytime soon.

"Can you send Dumbledore a message?" Ginny asked, and for the first time since they got in the lift, Harry heard tension in her voice.

Harry waved his wand and sent a message to Dumbledore via Patronus asking for help with the lift or canceling the Union without them. He turned to Ginny. "I don't want to risk setting off any safeguards by forcing the lift to open, so we'll wait on Dumbledore for a few minutes before we take matters into our own hands."

Ginny nodded just before a silver phoenix-shaped Patronus arrived. "I am looking into the matter of the lift. However, I cannot stop the Union without both of you and your contract, I'm afraid."

They both slid to the ground at the news, recognizing they'd be here for at least a short while. "So," Harry said, trying to infuse humor back into the situation. "Are you a good cook?"

Ginny looked over at him, eyebrow raised. She didn't respond.

"I mean, I can feed myself," Harry continued. "I've had some practice over the years. But if you're anything like your mum, then I'd have to vote passing the cooking responsibilities on to you."

There was a long pause. Harry hadn't seen Ginny so subdued in a long time. He supposed the reality of what was happening had finally hit her.

"Little do you know, Harry," Ginny finally responded, her voice sounding strained to stay light. "From a very young age, I was the one cooking. I taught Mum everything she knows."

Her words playful, her body language anything but.

"Hey," Harry said softly as he scooted over to sit by her and wrapped his arm around her. "We're going to take care of this; don't worry."

His comfort seemed to be all that was necessary to push her bottled feelings out. She leaned against him. He couldn't see her face, but Harry guessed she had tears running down her cheeks. "I'm so sorry, Harry. I was so dumb to write up that document, and now I've ruined our lives."

Harry shook his head. "You were eleven and did nothing but have a little fun with you friend. This is not your fault. Besides, we'll take care of it. Even if we can't stop it tonight, we'll take care of it tomorrow. No one even has to know."

Ginny looked up at Harry. Tears had not fallen, much to Harry's relief. Though her eyes were certainly moist. "You don't understand, Harry. This isn't just a lawful marriage. This is a Magical Union."

Harry shook his head, confused. "What's the difference?"

Ginny sighed. "Magical Unions are ancient and powerful. There are no annulments, no divorces. These are permanent. Nowadays, witches and wizards will marry lawfully and spend years together, have their first child together, before they will perform a Magical Union. They need to be sure they can be happy."

"So it's permanent?" Harry asked, the weight of the situation finally coming down on him. He leaned his head back against the wall.

"A person can only be united once," Ginny clarified. "It has something to do with life beyond the veil. In any case, we'd be able to split, to remarry lawfully. But we'd never be able to join in Magical Union with another."

"Is it a big deal?" Harry asked. Having never heard of it, Harry didn't think it could be that big of a problem.

"Some don't think so," Ginny said softly. "My family has always held the Magical Union as sacred-something we should strive for. My parents believe it is necessary the keep a family bound even in death."

Harry hit his head harder against the wall in frustration. He wondered if his own parents had received a Magical Union. "Oh Gin, I'm so sorry. We'll figure this out."

Harry stood and removed his wand. They had just over thirty minutes to void the contract.

Looking carefully at some of the magic used to operate the lift, Harry started working through the various spells and ways he could get the doors open without tripping some lockdown ward or sending the lift hurtling down the shaft to their possible deaths.

After a few minutes and careful examination, Harry turned to Ginny. "I think I've got a way to open this door. There's a small chance it will trap us in here tighter or the lift will drop to the bottom floor."

Ginny stood, a determined look on her face. Harry found himself admiring her strength. Even when she was vulnerable minutes ago, she still showed great fortitude. "Do it."

Harry waved his wand and muttered an incantation. The doors creaked open. A floor was right at eye level. The floor below them would be a twelve foot drop, and the one above would be a slight climb, with the ever present fear of getting chopped in half, should the lift start moving again.

"No time like the present," Ginny said, and without another word slid into the open space at their feet and dropped immediately. She tucked into a roll as she landed and stood up quickly from her fall, showing no signs of injury.

Feeling immense pressure to follow her up without the aid of magic, should he be mocked for it, Harry followed suit. The impact hurt a bit, but he also rolled upon landing to remove much of the force.

"Showoff," Harry muttered as he got to his feet. "You know I can legally cast magic and soften your fall, right?"

"Let's just be grateful I've got over twenty minutes before it becomes legal for me," Ginny said as she took in her surroundings. "Floor Five. We've got to drop two more."

They took off at a sprint, neither familiar with this floor, but knowing the general layout of the building. Without speaking the two agreed not to take another lift, but instead use the stairs. They took two steps at a time, without even grabbing the wooden railing.

On the seventh floor, the two ran down hallways, looking for the Department of Magical Unions. The wing of the floor they were currently in was dedicated to Magical Sporting. After a few minutes, they found the correct area and had located the office of Kent Fendmee.

Naturally the door was locked. No one responded to Ginny's hasty knock. Well aware of the laws against such actions, Harry waved his wand in an attempt to unlock the door. When that failed, Harry blew the door off of its hinges.

"Whosit?" Came a drunken call from within. Harry and Ginny stepped in the small office and held up the contract. Fendmee sat at his desk, a red mark on his forehead indicating he'd been sleeping for some time.

"Sir we've got a magical contract and need you to make it void within the next thirteen minutes," Harry stated calmly and set the contract on the table. Fendmee didn't look good. His eyes were unfocused and bloodshot, his hair and clothes a mess, and the alcohol from his breath was starting to make Harry feel buzzed.

"I promise I didn't take the pony," the man slurred in response.

"That's not ideal," Ginny said dryly.

In that exact moment, Dumbledore came around the corner of the office. Taking in the situation, he seemed to grow relaxed. "Ah, you made it. I was worried when I detected some strange magical signatures from the lift."

"This guy is wasted, Dumbledore," Ginny said in a rush, likely never so short with the professor in her life. She didn't seem to care much. "We need some pepper-up potion now."

"Of course," Dumbledore responded and left straight away.

Harry started looking around the office. "For someone to get this plastered, he must be a regular. I wouldn't be surprised if he's got some right in his office."

Ginny agreed with a nod and together they started searching every drawer and cupboard in the office. Aside from finding out the man had a strange horse fetish from various figurines, calendars, and paintings, they came up short.

"Four minutes, Harry," Ginny said in a defeated voice.

Harry sent water from his wand onto the man's face. He sputtered a bit, and his eyes seemed to focus for a moment before he let his head fall flat on his desk.

Harry turned to Ginny. "If Dumbledore doesn't make it here in time," he started and pulled her into a hug. "We're going to talk about this. Okay? We're going to figure something out."

He pulled back to see her nod determinedly at him. "I care about you, Ginny. And this doesn't have to be..." Harry trailed off, completely unsure of what he was going to say.

He was rescued from speaking by Dumbledore sweeping back into the room with surprising agility. He lifted Fendmee's head up and poured the potion down his throat.

After much coughing, sputtering, and ear-steaming, Kent Fendmee was finally able to take in his surroundings. "What's going on?"

Harry grabbed the contract again. "We need you to cancel this union before midnight."

"I can't just cancel this without knowing the situation. What's happened?"

Ginny responded in a rush. "We don't know how this got signed, but when I come of age, Harry's union to me will become binding. We don't want it."

Fendmee looked hard at Harry. "Mr. Potter, what an honor to have you in my office."

"Honor me by canceling it. Please, sir."

Fendmee pulled out his wand and held it to the parchment. Without a wave or incantation, the parchment gleamed gold for a brief moment.

"Uh oh..."

Harry felt his heart sink. He looked at his watch. Midnight.

He had joined in Magical Union with Ginny.

A/N: Mmmmk, guys, I know it's tropey and silly, and more than a little contrived. But if it puts Harry and Ginny in a difficult spot, I'm all for the tropes and contrivances! Let's see how these two handle things, shall we?

Let me know what you thought! If you want truly sincere gratitude, that is.