A/N:Ah...my beloved little x-over is now not only that, but totally AU, as well, considering the revelations from Order of the Phoenix. Oh well. I definately like my little version, better, anyway. At least in my version, that horrible death doesn't happen. *G*
When Harry and Ginny entered the labyinth, the first person they came across was the strange little old man with the bird on his hat. The man looked almost asleep, and it was the bird who spoke first. "Oooo...look, Morath! Two more young visitors to his majestie's labyrinth!" The old man looked at them for a moment before speaking. "So they are. And Hogwarts students, as well, no?"
"Er, yes," Harry said. "Her brother wished away our potions master, and now we've come to rescue him. Only we're not quite sure how to get to the castle. Could you possibly tell us how?"
"Wait, how did you know we're Hogwarts students?" Ginny asked, curious about the old man with the weird hat. It was something she bet not even Bill or Charlie had seen, and they'd been around the world quite a bit." Morath smiled slightly, and the twinkle in his eyes reminded her and Harry of Professor Dumbledore. "Why, my child, my brother, Albus, is headmaster at Hogwarts. He and I both attended."
"Sorry," Harry said, "but your brother? I thought Professor Dumbledore's brother was named Aberforth?" "He is," the bird cut in. "He's just so embarrased about his little messup that he's started going by his middle name. I don't see why, though. I turned out quite handsome, didn't I?"
"Would you please be quiet?" Morath asked, looking up at the bird. When it didn't answer, he turned to Harry and Ginny. "Now, then, quite often, we find what we seek only when we stop looking and start seeing." This, of course, didn't make a bit of sense to Harry or Ginny. Not sure what else to say, they just nodded. "Oh, well, thanks," Ginny said, as they headed off. "Did you understand a word of that?" Harry asked as soon as they were out of Morath's hearing range. "Not at all," Ginny answered. "I think he's more of a nutter than Professor Dumbledore."
The two of them wandered aimlessly through the labyrinth for a while, talking about various things like Quidditch, the next Hogsmead trip, or what Fred and George were going to say when they found out they'd had yet another adventure without them. Eventually, though, they looked up to find only a huge junk yard seperating them from the Goblin City. Looking at his watch, Harry noticed they had two hours left, and were about to start across when they were accosted by Agnes, the junk lady.
"Looking for something, dearies? Lost something, have you? Don't worry. Dear old Agnes will help you find it." "Oh, no, we're not looking for anything, at the moment-" Harry said, but he was interupted by Agnes, who had begun piling stuff on his back. Ginny, ever helpful, was pulling it off his back as fast as Agnes could add it. "Don't you worry about a thing," Agnes kept saying. "I'm sure you'll find what you're looking for in here, won't you?"
Finally, realizing talking to her wasn't going to get them anywhere, Harry and Ginny decided to just run for it, and took off towards the gate, an hour and a half to spare, leaving them up to half an hour to catch their breath before heading through the gates. Slumping down against the wall near the sleeping guard, the two young Gryffindors looked at eachother. "You know, Ginny, I'm really glad I got paired with you instead of Ron or Hermione. I mean, Hermione would have probably analyzed that stuff Morath said to death, and Ron probably would have just walked off in a huff."
Ginny smiled. "I'm glad I got paired with you, too. I mean, I get so tired of Ron, since I live with him. And it's great having Hermione around, since she's another girl, at least, but you're right. She would have been trying to study everything, and then we'd probably never have gotten here in time." They both laughed, then realized how close their faces were to eachother. In talking to eachother in their walk through the labyrinth, Harry and Ginny had slowly begun to realize their feelings for eachother, and now they expressed them with a soft kiss before Ginny rested her head on Harry's chest.