A.N. : As hard as it is to admit... this ship has sunk. But alas, that won't stop me from writing a fanfic about it.

At dawn, in a rainforest somewhere in Africa, a young woman bursts out running from a clutter of trees. At first glace, you may think that she's running away from someone, but you'd be wrong. Dead wrong. Dressed in black robes, hair tied back, with a slender frame standing at barely 5'5, she may not look intimidating to most.

But the man she was chasing knew better. For you see, she was Cho Chang, one of the best Aurors at the Ministry. There weren't many who could out duel her, at least not many who had survived the Second War.

The Second War… many brilliant witches and wizards lost their lives to the might of Lord Voldemort. Voldemort, a name that not many had dared to speak, was now simply a part of history. Harry Potter, the Chosen One, had defeated him. Nobody knew exactly what happened, but as for the outcomes, it was clear. Harry had somehow dragged himself and Voldemort across the veil… Neither of them has been seen ever since. Many waited outside the veil, waiting for Harry to come back, but after a while, they all gave up. After all, not even the Chosen One can come back from the dead.

The war ended, the remaining Death Eaters were either captured or killed. Only one had eluded the eyes of the Ministry… Snape. Severus Snape. The man who had been Voldemort's right hand, the man who had killed Albus Dumbledore, one of the greatest sorcerers of his time. He was now the most wanted man alive, although he has not been spotted since Voldemort's fall.

People moved on with their lives, no longer living in fear. Some felt that they became relaxed, too relaxed. After all, as long as there is good, there will always be evil. Cho Chang was one of those people. She entered the Auror training program, which is not as impressive as it once was, considering they accepted anyone who wanted in. But who's to blame them, when nearly all Aurors had been killed? Cho soon became one of the best Aurors in the Ministry.

Today was just another day of work for her. She was chasing down a wizard who had attempted to rob Gringotts. His dueling skills were sub par at best, but he was quite elusive. Cho has been on his trail for a week now, and she has not even seen his face. Of course this did not stop her from knowing exactly where he was.

She continued to run after him, in the direction where she had heard footsteps. The sound was starting to get fainter… Suddenly, she heard muttering, saw a flash of red light, and then heard nothing. Something was wrong, Cho could sense it. The light had to have been a Stunning Spell, but if he had aimed it at her and missed, why did he not cast the same spell again or continue running?

Realization quickly dawned on Cho Chang. It was a trap… How did it take her fifteen whole seconds to figure it out? He obviously wanted her to think that he thought he had gotten her... Luring her into a false sense of security, and then quickly disposing of her when she was off-guard. Maybe it would've worked on some other Auror, but not Cho Chang. She realized however, that if she were to send Stunners in the direction of the where she had seen the red light, it would be indirectly giving away her position. No rookie-mistake for Cho Chang, not today…

The solution was simple. Cho quickly put on her invisibility cloak and crept over, expecting to see him crouching down with his wand ready to curse her. What she didn't expect to see was two men.

Any other Auror would've slipped up and let out a sound, but Cho was no ordinary Auror. She quickly surveyed the situation before her. A short skinny looking man with brown hair was lying passed-out on the floor, obviously having been stunned by the other man. Tall blonde, handsome, and with a look of unmistakable joy on his face. He wore battered old black robes that looked like they've hardly been washed for years. It was blindly obvious that neither of these men belonged in this forest. But who were they? Which one was the man she has been chasing? And where did the other one come from? It seems her questions would soon be answered, as the blonde one stepped on the other one's stomach, pointed his wand at him, and muttered a spell. The man on the ground awakes…

"So who the hell are you?" the standing one says, as he quickly presses his foot harder against his victim's stomach. He was attempting to intimidate the other man.

Having just awoken and looking quite dazzled, he shouts, "None of your business… Get your filthy foot off of me and let me go!"

"You don't seem to comprehend the fact that you would be dead right now, if it weren't for the fact that I'm a little bored." He glances up, looking directly at Cho. Or rather directly at the tree behind her, of course, for she was still invisible…

"If you don't let me go soon, that Auror will catch the both of us, and then we'll be in Azkaban!" The man on the ground starting smirking, thinking he would soon be let go. Clearly, he had mistaken his captor for simply another fugitive.

"Auror, eh? Well that explains the pretty witch in the invisibility cloak…"

Before Cho could even wonder why the blonde man was able see her, she had already found herself throwing off her invisibility cloak and pointing her wand at him. But he did nothing; he did not even move. All he did was look, or rather, stare at her. He started to squint his eyes as if he was trying to recall a distant memory of some sort. It was only then that Cho noticed his rather familiar emerald green eyes…

Finally, after a few minutes of total silence, a look of realization dawned upon his face, as he smiled.

"Almost didn't recognize you… Heh", he said.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" Cho quickly replied, ignoring the fact that the man has apparently met her before.

" 'Who are you and what are you doing here?' Standard Auror question, isn't it? I remember reading that somewhere. But then again, isn't it also a standard Auror procedure to disarm an enemy before asking any questions?" He was now smiling, as he twiddled his wand between his fingers.

He was right, and Cho had been asking herself that same question during those minutes of silence before. Why didn't she immediately disarm him? She had no need to when she thought she was invisible, but upon learning that he could see her, Cho normally would've disarmed him right away. But she didn't… There was something about this man, Cho realized. He seemed familiar, somehow, and it was almost as if she could almost sense that he would not harm her. She was right to assume this, it seemed, as he has kept his wand on the other man the whole time, even when she threw off her cloak and pointed her wand at him.

"Who are you to tell me what to do? Besides, isn't it a standard procedure, for a criminal like you, to run away from, not taunt, Aurors?" She replies, not letting on the fact that she almost trusted him. It was very unbecoming of an Auror to trust a stranger, even one who seems to know them. Besides, she was an Auror, one of the best, and she was not about to let this man tell her how to act like one.

"Oh come on Cho, I just helped you capture a criminal and you assume I am one myself?" He quickly replies, and then looks down at the criminal. The criminal frowned upon learning that the man knows the Auror, and became rather disappointed by the fact this man was not about to let him go. He had been eagerly waiting for the man to start dueling with the Auror for his chance to escape, but it had not come yet…

"I repeat… Who are you and what are you doing here?" Cho tried to sound intimidating, but somehow, her voice had failed to do so. She began to wonder how this man knew her. Cho searched her memory, but nothing came up. The only obnoxious blonde boy she ever knew was that Slytherin seeker, but he's been dead for a while now.

"Ferocious, yet cute, but always straight to the point. I have always liked that about you." Still, he was smiling, almost as if this were simply a game to him. He was not afraid at all. It was as if he knew for a fact that Cho would not, or perhaps, would not, hurt him.

As much as Cho wanted to deny, she knew he was right. Cho was almost always like that. Every time she tries to be angry, something inside of her always stops her from going all the way. It was a rather annoying habit Cho had developed. It all started in her fourth year at Hogwarts. It was one of her first matches as the Ravenclaw seeker, and she would be going up against Harry Potter and his new Firebolt. The only way she could win was by flying into Harry's path every now and then. He would always stop and try to suppress a smile from coming to his face, and continue flying in a different direction. Any other seeker would've just flown straight at Cho, knowing she'd get out of the way before they would collide.

Actually, Harry's captain, Oliver Wood, had ordered him to do just that. But Harry, he had refused, afraid that he would hurt her. He was so naïve, that it was almost cute. Cho couldn't help but smile to herself every time he stopped. Even in a fierce game of Quidditch where it seemed as though everything was at stake, Cho and Harry still found it in themselves to smile. That was perhaps how she developed this 'ferocious, yet cute' attitude the blonde man was now referencing.

"Yes I am, but you still haven't answered my question."

"That is not important. The only thing that matters is that I am not your enemy. I've helped you capture your criminal. Now leave me and my forest in peace." Playtime was over. It was nice to see another human being again after so long a period of isolation, but he could not afford further interaction with her. If she found out who he was, his whole way of life would be turned upside down. It was time to go, he decided. He took his foot off the criminal, as if he was about to walk away.

"I'm s-… Answer my question!" Cho quickly straightened her arm and tightened her grip on her wand. Cho had started to apologize for intruding when she remembered who she and what she was doing. She was Cho Chang, an Auror, and she was not going to apologize to a potentially dangerous criminal. Too many people have become relaxed during this peacetime. She could not afford to be another one of those people. As long as there is good, there is evil. She would not let her guard down, no matter what!

She's not giving up, the man quickly realizes. Perhaps he would have to make her leave by force then.

"Sorry…" He grins broadly before quickly apparating away.

Cho quickly realized why he had apologized. The criminal had run away right after he had apparated. Without wasting any more time, Cho ran after him. It was not long before Cho saw his back and stunned him. While she had rest during her conversation with the blonde man, the criminal, who had already been weakened from being stunned and then reawakened again, had had his stomach pressed in by the blonde man's foot. It was as if the blonde man knew he might've had to let the criminal go sooner or later, so he weakened the criminal, making it easier for Cho to catch him.

On Cho's index finger on her left hand was a silver ring. At first glance, it was a rather plain ring, nothing special about it. Upon closer inspection you would see a lightning bolt craved into the center of the ring. Cho tapped the lightning bolt with her wand and three wizards quickly apparated to her at once. They were all wearing black robes like Cho's, and all of them had a similar silver ring.

"Ah, I see you've caught him…" A rather scrawny looking man with black hair observed. His name was Neville Longbottom. Seven years ago nobody would've believed it if you told them Neville would become an Auror. He had planned on become a Herbologist, but upon hearing that the Ministry needed more Aurors, his Gran had convinced him to become an Auror.

"Ah drat! I was hoping for a fight…" Always eager for a fight, it was almost as if peacetime was unsuitable for her, was Ginny Weasley. She had hardly changed, except perhaps, grown taller over the years. After Voldemort's downfall, Ginny quickly joined the Auror training program. Some had speculated that Ginny fought Dark Wizards, hoping that one would lead her to Harry Potter again. She refused to believe he was dead. In fact, she was the last one to leave the room with the veil, when all was gathered awaiting his return. Even then, she only left when her mother forced her to.

"Look's like we're doing escort service again… Joy." Ron Weasley sarcastically commented. Ginny's brother and the man who had been Harry's best friend, Ron accepted his friend's death. However that did not stop him from becoming an Auror to look over his little sister.

"Why did the Ministry send three of you? I only need one person to help me fly this man to Azkaban." Cho was rather surprised that the Ministry had sent so many Aurors to assist her. Surely, they did not think she was in trouble? This man was simply a theft. One who had failed, what was there to fear? When she touched the signet on her ring with her wand, she had only expected one Auror to come, as that was what usually happened.

Cho actually had hoped that her friend Marietta would come. Marietta was Cho's closest friend, and also another Auror. Cho had wanted to tell Marietta about the mysterious blonde stranger. Marietta was the only one Cho could trust with the fact that she let a stranger assist her, and then get away. Indeed, Cho and Marietta's loyalty to one another was almost unreasonable. Cho felt obliged to do so, for during her sixth year, after Cedric's death, Cho became almost unbearable to most of her friends. Marietta was the only who stood by her side.

"Who was the last man who tried to break into Gringotts?" Ron answered her question with a question of his own.

"Quirrell…" Cho stopped as she realized why Ron had asked her that. Quirrell had attempted to break into Gringotts in order to steal the Sorcerer's Stone and revive Voldemort. "Heh. That's rather foolish of them. Surely they did not think this man was attempting the same thing?"

"You know my father… Always trying to keep the public happy. If we let this man get away, then there would be rumors. Apparently, 'the Ministry cannot afford rumors of the Dark Lord's return'…" Ginny seemed to disagree with her father's worries. Arthur Weasley had replaced Rufus Scrimgeour as Minister of Magic, after Voldemort murdered him. Arthur was not a capable Minister during the Second War, but during these times of peace, he was quite adept at keeping the public happy and unafraid.

"Well… Shall we get going then?" Neville was always trying to follow the rules. He only suggested this because Aurors weren't supposed to stand around and chat while giving their suspect a chance to escape. A more experienced Auror like Cho or Ron would realize that the man was stunned and had literally no means of escape.

"Alright let's go…" Cho replied, not wanting Neville's enthusiasm at following the rules to go unheard. Besides, Cho wanted to talk to Marietta…

A.N. : My first story, so, make sure to review. Also, how obvious is it as to who the "mysterious blonde stranger" is?