Disclaimer: Don't own it. Darn. Oh well, at least I can toy with a bit. I like doing that!

Phantom: Hahaha, now you can't steal my chocolate! I ate it all and I'm updating! So there! Hope you have fun climbing all those evil stairs. *Shudder* And… Well… Never mind, I'm not going to comment to the rest 'cause you have to wait and see!

~*~

Harry sighed bitterly as he strolled down Diagon Alley. Blasted Mad-Eye, he would get him back for this somehow. He was silently praying that Moody wasn't serious about taking him off Lestrange, because Harry doubted that Ginny would ever be willing to 'befriend' him. He would be lucky if she so much as looked at him. On top of that, the paper currently tucked into the pocket of his deep green robe was his Quidditch schedule. Starting in a week, Harry would have daily practices with the Cannons, and he hadn't played a game of Quidditch in nearly two years. Of course, the Cannons were currently losing so terribly that having Harry would hardly make a difference, so he wouldn't be disappointing anyone. He knew the captain had only agreed because having The Boy Who Lived on their team would attract fans.

The Boy Who Lived. What an incredibly stupid name to call him by. Technically, he was The Boy Who Lived Seven Times. Maybe it was too long to include in their gossip trains. Of course, that didn't do any good for his friends. Had they all forgotten Remus Lupin? Had they forgotten Nymphadora Tonks? Had they forgotten Albus Dumbledore? It was outrageous, the way people could somehow skip over all the deaths that shouldn't have been honored; to the point where it almost seemed like he had single-handedly defeated Voldemort and his cronies. Ludicrous.

Harry's thoughts came to a sudden halt when he reached a second alley. The sign above was wrought gold, the letters an elegantly vibrant violet. Its words were simple, but proudly declared; Erised Alley. He turned down the street, the next onslaught of memories flooding him unauthorized. He had seen the Mirror of Erised in his first year; the mirror that showed you exactly what the deepest desires of your heart wanted most. Harry suspected that if he looked in it today, it would show him strangling Alastor for giving him this stupid assignment.

The image was amusing.

However, Harry's humorous attitude faded when he found himself standing before an enormous fountain. It was fool's gold, he could tell that after a brief survey. All the same, the warm glow of just past noon made it glitter with a vibrant fire. It was a beautiful piece, its center a unicorn proudly splaying water from its horn; all things pure. The base was covered in knuts, with a few sickles, though not many. Erised Alley was nice, but it wasn't for those with large sums of money.

Now, however, he faced another challenge. Finding Ginny. What to do after that, he had no idea, but things could be taken one step at a time. This would have been much easier if he wasn't Harry Potter, and already acquiring gawking fans. Of course, there were ways to deal with that. Sliding back into the shadows, he drew his father's invisibility cloak from a large pocket hidden in the inner folds of his robe. Slipping it over him, he was satisfied with invisibility. If only he could be like this all the time.

Next order of business, Moody had said that Ginny's usually ate lunch around one, fifteen minutes. He leaned against the wall, searching for any glimpse of red. A woman's crimson scarf fluttered in the breeze, a man's scarlet robes hung loosely around his form, a student home for the summer holidays was displaying the muggle trick of juggling with apples to his friends, a shock of fiery hair. There, he had her. He stood, drawing off the cloak before slipping into the crowd. Maneuvering himself to conveniently 'run into' Ginny was a well practiced art, actually make himself do it was much more difficult.

Step by careful step, he strolled towards her, face towards the cobblestone beneath his feet. Three, two, one… "Oof!" Was the cry of his unsuspecting prey. However, he hadn't expected her to fall so hard that she toppled onto the ground at his feet. Therefore he was quite surprised to find himself gazing down in to a pair of chocolate brown orbs, and he knew his shocked expression was far better than any mask of one might have been.

Ginny was beautiful. He remembered thinking she was pretty enough at Hogwarts, but right now she was downright gorgeous. Fiery locks splayed over her face, tendrils of gold coursing through the shoulder length waves. Faded freckles dusted her nose and cheeks, their appearance adding glamour instead of the 'cute' expression they had formerly given off. She was dressed in simple, deep ruby robes, but they only further brought out her eyes; lovely, warm, friendly eyes.

Until she realized who was staring at her. "You!" Her cry was forcefully angry, and he fought to keep himself from jumping.

"Ginny?" His tone was convincing, it even managed to crack. Now wait, that wasn't right, he never acted this well…

"What are you doing here?" She demanded crossly, still glaring up at him.

"Apparently, running into you," he replied dryly, offering a hand to help her to her feet. She ignored it. He had to force himself from grinning. That was the Weasley pride, all right. Weasleys…

Bill Weasley charged headlong into the fray, trailing his younger brother. "Ronald Weasley, get back here! Mum ordered you out of the fight!"

"No!" Bill cursed softly, how had he gotten such stubborn brothers? Well, he could certainly be stubborn too. Dashing up behind the other red head, he snatched the boy's wand from his hand.

"Get out Ron; we have plenty of fully trained wizards to handle this!"

"I'm not fully trained?! I've helped Harry plenty of times; I'm going to do it again! Give. Me. My. Wand!"

Bill shook his head, pocketing it. "No, Ron." With that, he dashed towards Godric's Hollow, the sounds of battle meeting his ears. The screams of anguish that tore through the air were awful, and every step forward he took was forced. He almost wished he could turn around and go back to Ron…

No, he was a fully grown wizard. Four of his brothers were in the battle; one was in St. Mungo's. He had to protect Ron, and he had to protect Ginny. A sudden hand on his pocket, he turned, to find Ron triumphantly holding his wand. "No, Ron, don't…"

But his brother was already running, running towards…

A movement in the shadows, the raising of a wand… "Expelliarmus!" He cried, grinning in proud delight as the wand dropped from his opponent's fingers, Bill had protected his brother. But Ron was shouting something, his expression frightened. Bill turned, bravely clasping his wand…Only to meet an onslaught of fire, a final end. But he had protected his brother…Ron was safe…

Harry found himself jerked out of the vision by a hand rapidly shaking his shoulder. "Potter, snap out of it!" Ginny cried fiercely, seconds before he opened his eyes. Ginny had never called him Potter before. Before he had written the letter, his mind chided him.

Once his swimming eyes could focus, he found himself meeting pools the color of Honeyduke's finest. That didn't make any sense either, he was taller than Ginny, and he shouldn't have been looking eye to eye with her. "Where am I?" He asked groggily, unsatisfied by Ginny's scowl.

"You're kneeling in the center of Erised Alley, prat." She hissed violently, dragging herself back to her feet.

"Oh," was the most Harry could make out, climbing into a standing position. "How did I get there?"

"I don't know. You got a blank look in your eyes and muttered something about Bill, and then you just… fell." She didn't seem at all concerned, Harry noted. Damn, he almost hoped she was; that would make it easier for him to ask her to lunch.

He shuffled his feet uncertainly, and she shoved past him. He was glad to see her go… Wait! No he wasn't! He had to stay on Lestrange! Spinning, he called out, "Ginny!" She turned, only to glower at him. Giving an embarrassed cough, he asked softly, as if he was frightened --which, he was-- before asking. "Would you like to go to lunch with me?"

She stared at him incredulously, before crying. "The nerve of some people! Just because they're heroes, they can forget ever rotten word they ever said to a person! I thought you never wanted to see me again, Mr. Potter!"

He blinked, meeting her eyes squarely before speaking softly. "Er, could you try to keep your voice down? Shouting Mr. Potter at the top of your lungs brings in attention I don't exactly want. And… Well, I guess I changed my mind." He lied quickly, wincing as he realized the reaction this would bring.

Ginny opened her mouth to yell, only to see him flinch before she began. She had apparently forgotten how well he knew her, four years apart or no. Instead, she lowered her voice to a whisper, struggling to keep it calm. "Well, why don't you go off and find someone better. You seemed positive that you could four years ago."

Why had Moody given him this rotten assignment? What's more, why had Hermione agreed? She knew things were terrible between him and the youngest Weasley, even if she didn't know how terrible. Plowing forward, he tried again. "Ginny, please, it's just lunch. Ron would…" The force of her open palm on his cheek was powerful, he found himself wishing she was an Auror, with that kind of strength.

"Don't you dare mention my brother to me." She hissed, rage etched in every line of her face. He took a hurried step back, intimidated by her expression. He shouldn't have worried; she was already turning to storm down the street.

Attempt Number One: Failed. Beautifully.

~*~

So… Whatcha think? Are they in or out of character? Do you like or no? Any opinions on how many tries before they manage to make reasonable conversation? (Lol) I like constructive criticism, so please give me some! (Of course, praise is welcome too! ~_^) Review, and make my day!