A/N: I had a PM from someone telling me that they really like "this" Harry, and my response was that I'm still getting to know him, lol. I'm getting to know Ginny too. I do know their motivations though, even when they sometimes don't, and all I can say is, don't assume everything is exactly as it seems . . .

Ten minutes into her second week as an Auror trainee, Ginny understood that the previous week had been a tease. What she'd assumed was going to be the pace and schedule of the training had been merely an introduction. Now they were divided into groups, assigned mountains of homework (both reading and practical), and marched through each day as if an entire village of Death Eaters was readying an attack and the only thing standing between them and the destruction of the wizarding world was the Ginny and her co-trainees.

Today, they were sitting in their morning class, "Roots of Dark Magic" listening to an Auror Ginny had never seen before drone on about what kinds of factors might make someone turn to evil. While the rest of the training was fascinating and useful, these lectures were mostly theoretical and had quickly become the trainees' least favorite part of the day; indeed, Ginny suspected they were scheduled first thing in an attempt to make sure they all stayed awake. But really, how difficult was it to understand that a desire for money or power were two major contributors in the reasons certain wizards turned Dark?

"Do you think the Goblins at Gringotts can help track suspicious transactions as a method for predicting Dark activity?" Copernicus Center, the oldest of the trainees, was speaking and everyone groaned. He had a habit of asking questions on topics that had been either previously covered or else were so obvious that they weren't deserving of more than two or three minutes discussion. In this case, "financial evidence" had been covered quite thoroughly two days earlier. But they'd had a different lecturer, and today's teacher looked quite delighted at the prospect of one of her students showing any interest at all. She launched into a back and forth discussion with Copernicus about what methods the Goblins used that was almost a word for word repeat of the previous lecture. Around her, Ginny could already sense the rest of the class tuning out.

She elbowed her brother, who was snoring lightly.

"Didn't you wake up just an hour or two ago?" she hissed.

Ron startled and sat up straight in his chair. "Late night with the Arrows," he mumbled. "Those witches downstairs wanted to have a party and Harry brought me along."

"Is that why I had to put silencing charms on all my windows then? I'm surprised no one else complained how loud the music was. It sounded like the Weird Sisters were right outside my flat."

Ron snorted. "That was Harry's idea," he said. "He used one of Fred and George's message Snitches to magnify the music and fly up to your window. The team had a bet going about how long it would take you to come downstairs and start hexing. Harry lost."

Ginny stifled a groan of irritation. "He knew I had work early this morning, probably thought it was funny."

Ron shrugged. "It was funny," he said. "Of course, it would have been better if you'd made an appearance. I lost a whole Galleon myself." He gave Ginny an aggrieved look as if she was responsible his loss.

"Don't blame me for your poor financial decisions," she said. "Why would I want to come down there anyway? Sounds like you had enough female attention anyway."

"That's for sure," answered Ron. "But those fangirls are crazy. That one Harry kissed was there and it was clear she wanted second helpings. She kept draping herself all over him and offering him chocolates and things." He grinned. "But sober Harry wasn't nearly as interested. Sober Dam and sober twins on the other hand . . ." He made a rather obnoxious gesture with his hand and Ginny slapped it down.

"Oy, Ron, are you still twelve?"

"All I'm saying is that Harry'd better watch out. I can bet some of those chocolates were filled with a sex potion or something."

Ginny frowned. "Harry should know better than to eat anything from Fred and George's shop," she said.

Ron nodded. "He does," he confirmed. "But I think Dam and the others know better too. And chose to eat them anyway. The were trying to get Adam and Harry to join in when . . ."

"Ahem."

Copernicus and the instructor had apparently finished their "private" talk, and the Auror was peering at all of them again, looking faintly put out. Ginny sat up and arranged her face into an expression of interest. She hoped that next to her, Ron was doing the same.

"Mr. Center's question about the Gringott's goblins raises an interesting question," the lecturer said. "Not all suspicious activity they uncover; indeed, not all suspicious activity in general, is covered by the jurisdiction of the Aurors. Other branches of Magical Law Enforcement must be involved where appropriate."

"But how do you know what's appropriate?" asked Ernie. "I thought we were here to chase down rogue Death Eaters."

"Not everyone can be divided neatly in the good people and Death Eaters," said Ginny. She remembered Sirius saying as much to Harry during one of their stays at Grimmauld Place her fourth year. It hadn't really resonated with her as much at the time; law enforcement meant the Aurors and the Order and where the two groups overlapped. Everyone who was not part of the Order was subject to suspicion then. She tried to remember more of what Sirius had said to Harry, but her memory was tainted by her disagreement with him over Christmas. Now she understood that evil could come in many forms – just look at Umbridge, who still, somehow, had a place working at the Ministry, and yet whom Ginny considered almost as bad as the Death Eaters. She wasn't alone in that opinion either. She pulled out her quill; finally one of their morning lectures might be useful.

The instructor nodded. "That's exactly right, Miss Weasley. During the war, there was plenty of truly Dark activity, of course, and stopping it was the main focus of the Aurors." She grimaced. "But corruption in the Ministry made out task particularly difficult. There were plenty of wizards . . . there are still plenty of wizards, who may not be practitioners of truly Dark Magic like the Death Eaters, but who can be nearly as dangerous. The lure of dark magic for any manner of reasons is strong. We work closely with magical law enforcement to figure out what cases deserve an Auror presence and which ones don't. As you move further in your training, don't ever hesitate to mention your suspicions if something doesn't feel right. Right now, it's better to respond with too heavy a presence than not enough."

Ginny noticed that the instructor had so far refrained from mentioning Voldemort at all, and she wondered if it was on purpose. Before she could say anything, Parvati raised her hand.

"But aren't there also wizards who are born evil? I don't think that Voldemort was who he was because he wanted money."

Ginny flashed her a smile of understanding. "And he was Dark from a very young age; before he left Hogwarts for sure." She suppressed a shudder. She didn't speak often of the Chamber, but she'd known when she joined the Aurors that the topic would likely come up. Better that it be on her own terms. "He committed murder by the time he was fifteen," she continued. "And was already taking steps to delve deeper into dark magic than almost anyone had before."

Their instructor nodded grimly. "Thank you, Miss Weasley. I don't know if Gawain Robards has spoken to you yet, but we'd like to have you talk about your experience in the Chamber of Secrets and what led up to it when you are all further along in training. It's an excellent example of how to identify dark objects and the danger they can cause."

Ginny nodded stiffly. "It wasn't the object that was dark as much as the wizard who created it," she said carefully. Even after all these years, it still stung to think about how naïve she had been. "But you'll probably want to have Ron talk too; he's the one who fought . . . what came out of the diary and saved me."

Next to her, Ron shuffled. "It wasn't all me," he muttered. "Harry was there too." Ginny looked at her brother; the few times anyone in her family discussed the Chamber, Ron was always quick to include Harry's participation, even though he'd been mostly trapped behind an avalanche of rocks in the tunnel. Harry himself never spoke of it.

"Yes, well, Mr. Potter is not here now, is he?" asked the instructor primly. "I think you and Ron will be more than sufficient to convey the information we need."

"But Harry was also . . ." Ginny began. She stopped, unsure exactly how much to say about the year Harry and Ron and Hermione were on the run. Surely the more senior Aurors were aware of the Horcrux hunt, but Ginny herself only knew because of her proximity to family discussions about it. Harry and the others had been otherwise tight-lipped.

The instructor gave her a sharp look. "That is neither here nor there right now," she said. "Today we are talking about how to identify dangerous situations wrought by wizards who may be less evil and more greedy, power-hungry, and inexperienced. Please open your manuals to page 36 and read the anecdotes. You will be tested later on the types of spells that can be used to detect such minor dark magic."

Sighing to herself, Ginny complied, scowling slightly at the rather simplistic story about a wizard who wanted to use a dark spell to multiply his meager savings into additional funds. Hopefully, the afternoon lessons would be more interesting.

HPHPHPHPH

It was with no little measure of relief that Ginny Apparated straight to the Burrow after her final lesson on Friday. The week had been long and difficult, full of practical lessons about tracking down and diffusing all manner of dark activity. With a pang of sadness, she'd struggled through their first lesson in disillusionment and disguise, remembering Tonks and the ease at which she'd been able to change her appearance. Basic hexing and protections charms were much easier; so far they hadn't learned anything Harry hadn't taught them years ago in the DA, and it showed in the success all the trainees who were former members displayed.

But even as they learned new and darker magic and defense, Ginny couldn't shake the feeling unease at what wasn't being taught. For surely, no matter what might have been said or shouted in anger, there was no question that Harry's unique knowledge and experience would be useful here. And yet, it felt like any mention of him or his activities had been excised from the curriculum.

Still, Ginny's curiosity about why Harry wasn't mentioned at training hadn't prevented her from deciding to skip a trip to her flat in favor of arriving early at the Burrow for dinner. The team had been gone for three glorious days, and Ginny had enjoyed both the quiet and the ease with which she had been able to enter and leave the building. But the appearance of a number of folding chairs on the front walk that morning would have alerted her to the team's imminent return even if that nasty blonde Katerina hadn't tried – inartfully – to cast a tripping spell at Ginny as she walked down the path that morning. It still surprised her sometimes how poor so many witches and wizards seemed to be at basic magic; Ginny was beginning to realize that being surrounded by powerful and talented wizards was something she had always taken for granted. She hadn't even bothered to return the hex; better to ignore the woman.

But Harry was still on her mind while she helped her mum prepare supper, after changing into her most comfortable old Quidditch practice things from her days on the Hogwarts team. She'd left them at the Burrow on purpose when she moved into her flat, and now she sighed contentedly at their cozy warmth. Her father was sitting at the kitchen table, fiddling idly with set of Muggle playing cards, flipping them over and over and chortling when the images on them stayed the same every time. Ginny had half a mind to ask him about Harry; certainly her father's newly elevated status at the Ministry would have made him privy to a bit more news than either Ron or Hermione had known. He'd be tactful about it too, her dad would, and Ginny could have her curiosity satisfied as well as possibly get a leg up on the other trainees.

But before she could say anything, a series of cracks outside the door announced the arrival of various of her brothers. She bit back her question; no doubt Percy and even Bill would know something too, but getting any useful information out of them would require her to explain exactly why she was asking, and truth be told, Ginny wasn't entirely sure.

She sighed, levitating the dinner plates over to the table, but it was only when her mum told her to add one more that she realized Harry was coming to dinner as well.

They all trooped in en mass, pushing and joking and grabbing food out of pots still cooking on the stove. Ginny slapped away hands good-naturedly and made pointed comments about how they all always managed to arrive just as the hard work cooking was done, when Ron's voice rang out above the others.

"Nice outfit, Ginny. If you'd told us you were still interested in Quidditch maybe Harry could have gotten you a tryout with the Arrows." He and Harry high-fived and Harry gave her a rather cocky grin.

"I'm sure we'd all love to have a witch on the team again, Ginny, if you think you could keep up."

She opened her eyes wide. "Oh, I can keep up, all right. Probably better than you." She gave him a pointed look. "At least I'd know how to control myself around hand-sy witches while I was drunk."

"Witches maybe," Harry retorted. "But what about wizards?" He raised his eyebrows.

"Wizards too," said Ginny coolly. "Both drinking and flying." She knew she was probably pushing it a bit, suggesting that she flew better than a professional Quidditch team, but she couldn't help it. Somehow, coming back to the Burrow, no matter how relaxing, always ended up making her feel like she was a little kid again, fighting for attention and the chance to prove herself. Merlin, it had been years before her brothers would even mention anything remotely related to sex in front of her.

Which was probably why she pushed it.

"I'm actually surprised to see you here, Potter," she said, deliberately using his last name the way Dam had. "There were just so many distractions outside the building earlier. I'm surprised you aren't charming . . . a Snitch for one of them. Maybe they'd actually enjoy it."

"Ron told you, did he? Why couldn't you have just come down? I lost four Galleons on you."

She raised her eyebrows. "And this is my fault why, exactly? As far as I knew, it was just a bunch of you showing off for those stupid fangirls. Most of whom couldn't charm their way out of a paper bag, I suspect. I had no interest in getting mixed up in any of that; I see and hear you all quite enough in the hallway outside my flat."

Harry grinned. "What exactly did you do to Katerina? She seemed the most put out that I was trying to get you downstairs."

"Not to mention the fact that Ginny didn't show up," added Ron. He looked at her. "I'd watch out for that one," he said seriously. "She's a little more . . . fanatical, than the others."

"That's why they all them fans, Ron," said Ginny patiently. "And I can handle her. Like I said, I'm not sure she could hex me badly enough to even cause a nosebleed."

"They can't fly either," said Harry. "One of them actually asked me if my 'Firebrand' could fly all the way across town before needing to recharge." He rolled his eyes. "She must be Muggleborn; she was so sure that we needed to plug in our brooms somewhere to get them to work."

Ginny rolled her eyes too. "Are all Arrows' fans that stupid or did you all just get especially lucky?" she said lightly. "At least I'd expect them to know something about the game."

Harry knocked her hip. "Not all Arrows fans are ignorant of Quidditch, are they? I mean, you're a fan, right Ginny?"

Ginny shrugged coolly. She had always kept her Quidditch team allegiances quiet; it was a running joke in the family. "I haven't decided yet. I'll have to see you all play first. I mean, you lost rather spectacularly to Tutshill last week, didn't you? I could have played better myself."

"That's because the referee was totally blind and missed two late hits!" said Harry indignantly. "Even the Tutshill captain admitted later that those calls just handed them the game; their Seeker had extra time to watch for the Snitch." He crossed his arms. "And if you really think you can fly better than me, why don't you show me, huh?" He looked across the kitchen. "Molly, how long until supper's ready?"

Ginny's mum smiled indulgently. "I'd say there's enough time for fly."

HPHPHPHP

Ginny should have known better, but she couldn't help it. She did love to fly, and with the way her training schedule had been lately with the Aurors, she hadn't had any time in the air for several weeks. Still, borrowing Harry's second practice broom and facing him (on his Firebolt) while her brothers watched from the edges of the Burrow's orchard was not Ginny's idea of relaxing. They weren't using Quaffles, just trying to see who could catch the Snitch first while dodging Bludgers, and Ginny couldn't help but complain.

"I'm a Chaser," she argued. "There's no way I can beat Harry at Seeking. We should get a Quaffle too."

"You played Seeker my Sixth Year," Harry pointed out. He smirked. "I thought you said you could keep up with me flying, no matter what. Are you chickening out now?"

"Fine," Ginny huffed. "But let's make it interesting then. What should we bet?"

Harry thought for a moment. "Well, since you said you can beat me at both flying and drinking, let's say that whoever catches the Snitch first has to buy the other drinks all night the next time we're all out at a pub. Sound good?"

That meant Ginny was going to end up going out with the Arrows no matter who won the bet. She sighed, but refused to give Harry the satisfaction of disagreeing. "You're on, Potter," she said.

At first, things were pretty even. Ginny and Harry raced around the Burrow's makeshift pitch, trying to outfly each other while looking for the Snitch. Fred and George started hitting Bludgers at them, and Ginny had to admit she was having fun practicing some of her more daring moves, rolling and swerving to avoid getting hit. She kept half an eye on Harry, flying high when he did and diving towards the ground even when she was certain he was faking having seen the Snitch. After his third such move she called over to him.

"Oldest trick in the book, Harry. Don't you have any better moves?"

He didn't answer, just shot back into the sky. Suddenly, two Bludgers came out of nowhere at the same time, and by the time Ginny had avoided both, she could just see Harry, flying out of the boundaries of the pitch and in the direction of the orchard. Ginny saw a hint of gold in the direction he was flying and too late, she realized she'd been played. She cursed to herself before leaning forward on her broom to follow him.

Damn, but Harry was fast. He shot past the orchard completely and banked sharply where the land beyond the Burrow's property fell away in a small valley before it rose back up again closer to the Lovegood's. By the time Ginny landed, he was sitting under a tree, idly playing with the Snitch.

She sat down in a huff next to him. "Did you plan that with my brothers or were just deciding to be arses on their own?"

Harry shrugged innocently. "I have no idea what you mean," he said. "I clearly outflew you."

Ginny cuffed him on the arm. "You cheated, you mean. The Bludgers were chasing both of us equally until the end. The bet's off."

"You're just worried I'll outdrink you in addition to outflying you," Harry teased. "All talk but no action, hmm?"

"If I remember correctly, you cheated at drinking too," said Ginny pointedly. "Take out all the fancy charms and I promise, I'll keep up just fine. I've been drinking with you all for years, remember?"

"I remember," said Harry. He played with the Snitch, tossing it in the air and then freezing it with his wand before it flew off.

"Well then, don't worry about me, okay? I don't need anymore child minding from my overprotective brothers, and that goes for you too." Ginny stood up.

"We should get back; Mum won't want to hold supper forever." She jumped on her broom. "Race you back?"

Harry stood up too. "Nah, you'll probably just accuse me of cheating again." For some reason, he sounded a little annoyed.

Ginny gave him a look. "Not so cocky when you don't have my brothers or your teammates to back you up?"

Harry shook his head. "No, it's not that. It's just . . ." he stopped, and Ginny got the impression he was changing his mind about what to say. "I'm sorry about the Bludgers. Next time we'll race for real, okay?" He gave her a small grin. "And I'll still win."

"We'll see about that," said Ginny lightly. She took off without a backward glance.

Harry caught up easily, but instead of racing her, they flew side by side back to the Burrow. When they landed, he quickly told everyone there must have been something wrong with the Snitch, because neither of them had been able to find it, and declared the contest a tie.

Ginny interrupted. "What Harry means is that I caught him – and all of you – cheating, and doesn't want to admit that I win by forfeit."

"Ahh Ginny, too smart for us now," said Fred. "You used to fall for our tricks, what happened?"

"I grew up and joined the Aurors," retorted Ginny.

"Damn straight you did," said Bill. "And I heard you're already making a name for yourself."

"What kind of name?" asked Harry. He seemed to have gotten over whatever had been bothering him. "I can think of several that I'm sure they'd love to hear at the Ministry. . ." he raised his eyebrows.

Like Little Red, or Fireball, or worse. Ginny knew it would only take one well-placed comment for everyone in the training class to know what her family used to call her. She spoke without thinking.

"Yeah well, you'd actually have to show up at the Ministry to tell anyone those names, now wouldn't you?"

She knew immediately she'd gone too far. Harry's face closed up like a book, and Ron chided her with a quiet "not appropriate, Ginny." The rest of the family seemed to suddenly have business in other parts of the kitchen, and Hermione walked over to Harry and spoke to him quietly. Ginny saw him nod and shrug, looking unhappy.

Harry didn't speak to her – or even look at her – for the rest of the evening. Everyone else talked around the obvious tension, and her brothers made half-hearted attempts to tease her about whether there were any cute blokes in her training class, but they left Harry out of the joking. When everyone was helping clean up, she tried to get him alone to apologize, but he always seemed to be talking to Ron, or Fred and George, or her father, or Ron again. Finally she gave up.

Harry and Ron were the first to leave. After they said their goodbyes, Ginny saw Ron say something in an undertone to Harry, and Harry quickly shake his head before they both walked out the door.

When Ginny left quietly several minutes later, she realized that Ron had probably suggested taking her side-along to the private back entrance to the flat. She tried to muster up some annoyance at Harry's willingness to throw her back to the mercy of the fangirls, but deep down, she knew it was her fault.

They were camped out thicker than ever when she arrived home, and she stomped up the path without looking anyone in the eye, blasting chairs and photos and other paraphernalia out of her way with abandon, ignoring the shouts behind her.

"Slag," she heard someone mutter. "Probably worked her way through the team and can't understand why they're ignoring her now."

Ginny whirled around. It didn't surprise her to see Katerina standing there smirking, only this time, she was flanked by two other equally over-dressed and garishly made up cronies. It took all of her self-control to remember that Aurors were absolutely forbidden from using any of the many hexes and jinxes they knew to get petty revenge on people who annoyed them. Instead, she pretended to trip and simultaneously knocked up a clump of mud with her wand, spattering it across the three witches' fronts.

"Oops, sorry," she said sweetly. "I guess I didn't see that chair leg." She took a deep breath. Hexes were forbidden but a reminder was okay. "You may want to be more careful with your things," she added. "I'll be needing this space to practice. Auror training, you know."

She hid her satisfaction at the slight hint of surprise that crossed the faces of the three witches. Hoping that would keep them out of her hair, she turned around and walked to her door.

Fixing things with Harry would be more difficult, she suspected. For a second, she considered just ignoring it and letting things die down on their own; the Arrows were going on another road trip in a day or two; she could surely avoid Harry until then. But that was the cowardly – and childish – way to deal with problems.

Without giving herself time to talk herself out of it, Ginny knocked firmly on Ron and Harry's door, hoping Harry would answer and she could make her peace quickly.

Of course, Ron opened the door. Ginny half expected him to yell or tease her, but he just stood there looking at her. Since when did he get so mature?

"I need to talk to Harry," she said. Ron nodded and stood aside to let her in, and then disappeared in the direction of his bedroom. Ginny hoped his new maturity extended to the setting of a silencing charm.

Harry was sitting on the sofa with a bottle of butterbeer. He didn't stand up or scoot over to make room for her and after an awkward pause, she sat on one of the single chairs next to the wireless.

She took a deep breath. "I was out of line," she said finally. "And I'm sorry."

Harry gave a slight nod. "You know, don't you? That there's a reason I don't go back? Ron said he told you."

Ginny felt another flush of shame, because of course, Harry and Ron would have discussed it. She nodded. "Not the details, but yeah. Ron told me they wanted you for the Aurors and you refused. For a good reason."

Harry took a sip of butterbeer. "I'm not sure how good it was, but yeah, it's important. To me, at least."

"You don't have to tell me," she said quickly.

Harry looked surprised. "I wasn't," he said.

"Oh." Ginny flushed at her assumption.

"But it's enough you know I have a reason, and you trust me," Harry continued. "Enough people already think I've gone 'round the bend, but I'd expect you to know better."

"I do, really Harry, I do." Ginny bit back the urge to tell him how she'd stood up for him against Ernie; it would just sound patronizing right now. "I was just annoyed, because everyone always . . ." Now it was Ginny's turn to bite back her words. "Nothing. It was just a stupid thing to say and I'm sorry." She looked directly at him. "I do know better, I swear." She gave him a small smile. "And I promise, I'm on your side."

Harry nodded; he looked rather tired. "Thanks Ginny," he said quietly. "And I'll try not to . . . do whatever it is that makes you annoyed. You don't have to come out drinking with us."

Ginny bit back the odd flash of disappointment and forced herself to speak lightly. "Oh, I don't know. Someone still may need to watch out for you."

Harry wasn't yet ready to play, it seemed. "Hermione's pretty good at that," he said. He stood up. "I have an early workout tomorrow morning."

The dismissal was obvious. Ginny nodded and stood up too. "Hope it's a good one," she said. She walked herself to the door before turning back. "And Harry, I am really sorry."

He smiled at her, a little sadly. "I know Ginny."