A/N: Remind me to never let my unread emails build up so much again. I've been sorting through them over the past few days and, while it's finally nearing manageable, there's still a fair way to go.

This time, the decision to date is easier. Harry still feels a rush of guilt when he asks Caitlin, a witch from Hermione's department at work, out to dinner, but it isn't anywhere near as intense as it was with Bree. This time, he doesn't even need a pre-date pep talk to get him out the front door. Excitement stirs within him at the prospect of spending time with the lively blonde. She might not be Ginny, but she is a force of her own.

He picks her up at her house, because – although he sees no point to it when it would be more efficient to both Apparate there by themselves – Ron insists that it's good manners. From the moment she steps out of her front door, he can tell that it's going to be different than any date he has ever been on before. She's wearing a red sundress, and her hair is up in some kind of twisty thing, and she instantly starts babbling at him, but everything she's saying is interesting and purposeful, and –

And he likes it.

She is probably, from what he can tell, the most confident person he has ever met, jumping straight into conversation without any hint of self-consciousness or awkwardness.

"Tell me if I'm talking too much," she says offhandedly, and he gets the sense that people could tell her that a thousand times and she would still bounce back again. "There's a reason I make a good lawyer. Just a hint: it's not lack of verbosity."

"I don't mind," he assures her, not wanting the flow of fascinating words to stop. "Have you been to Parvati's Corner before? If so, it might be better if we Apparate there separately."

"I have. We could have just met up there, you know."

"I know, but, er, my friend said it would be polite to meet you here, even if we don't end up Side Along Apparating."

She laughs, watching him knowingly. "Do you mean an actual friend, or is that just a euphemistic way of saying that you changed your mind?"

"Actual friend. I asked him for advice, seeing as how I haven't dated much… since..."

"Since Ginny?" she supplies.

Harry hesitates, not sure how she will take the reference to Ginny. That's one thing both Ron and Hermione have been adamant about over the years: never talk about your ex on a first date. "Yeah."

Caitlin, however, simply nods. She doesn't apologise – for saying her name or for his loss – and he's grateful for that. "From what I've heard from Hermione, she was quite the witch. But you don't need to worry about dating conventions or whatnot. I don't date much either; work can get hectic, and most people don't like overtalkative lawyers, so I'm generally happier just hanging out with my friends. I would rather we do what feels right, not what someone else calls normal."

He breathes out a sigh of relief. Despite his earlier feelings of guilt, this girl really does intrigue him, and he'd hate for the date to end before they even left her house. "Same. Er, without the lawyer bit."

"Shall we go, then?"

"Ladies first."

She shoots him an amused look before squeezing her eyes shut and, holding her wand out before her, turning in place. Within an instant, she's gone.

I can do this, Harry thinks as he unsheathes his own wand thirty seconds later. Fred and Hermione are right; Ginny would want me to be happy. And Luna is, too; I can miss her without cutting myself off from new people.

His lips quirk up in a soft smile as, visualising the familiar restaurant, he turns in a tight circle. He can move forward without leaving Ginny's memory behind, and he can't think of a more stimulating person to do it with. He isn't yet ready to commit to someone else, but, for the first time since that dreadful battle, he feels like he's getting there.