Next Time Around

Time is relative...

Authors note:
So... new ritual this chapter. I don't really have a lot to say about it... just read it I guess. It took me a long time to get this chapter to where I wanted it. Not sure why really but hey, that's how it goes now and again.

Disclaimer: I'm not Rowling. I don't own HP universe. Sadly.

Enjoy!

Harry was fingering his wand, twirling it in between his fingers. He secretly wished it was the elder wand he was holding, but hey, his trusty old holly wand had to do for now.

He was thinking about the time he had had in the ritual room. It seemed like so long ago, though it was at most two weeks. He thought of Samjeer, his strict but secretly incredibly soft mind-master and of Sarah, who knew anything there was to know about healing.

He reminisced for a while about different memories he had of them, then steeled himself. They were after all not dead, simply just not there.

He retreated into his mind, looking for the chapter of his life that held his memories of his time with his teachers. Slowly, he stopped the threads of memories coming to and from it. It was time to close that chapter in his life. The only one he might ever see again was Maat, and the others weren't dead or anything, so there was no sense in being sad about them. He did put his memories of Maat in a separate file, so that if he would ever see him again, he wouldn't mentally think of his as someone ho had already died.

Slowly, still slightly depressed about having to accept that his good friends were gone, he came back to the outer world.

As he heard someone approached, the tip of his wand shot a couple of green sparks before he got his emotions under control. He really didn't want to see any of the morons here.

'Hey Harry.' Ah. It was Ginevra. She had been rather insistent on seeing him the last couple of days. He suspected she wanted to ask him someone but hadn't worked up the courage yet. He mentally applauded her on being such a prime example of a good Gryffindor- not-.

Though from the serious expression on her face, she might finally ask him. He certainly did hope so, because hanging around her had been very hard on Harry's mental stability and he hoped this might be the end of it.

Ginny took a deep breath, seemingly steeling herself for the questions she wanted to ask.

'Harry... when you see me back then... will we be together again, you and me?'

Harry stared at her for a bit. He hadn't expected that question, but he supposed it made sense for her to ask him that. He really wanted to massage his temples, but refrained.

'Ginny. First of all you will be eleven, second of all we're not together now. And I don't do pedophilia. So no, thanks but no thanks.'

Harry internally winced. To much assertiveness. He really had to tone down his character.

'I mean... you wouldn't like that... right? It would feel wrong. You will never be as you are now, because I will change the course of history.'

Ginny gave him a half sulk, half contemplating look. 'Well... you should think about it ok? We are so good together.'

Harry coughed lightly. He hoped he had masked his gag well enough. He just hoped that at least she had missed the double entry. 'Sure Ginny. I'll see how it works out.'

Better. Ginny looked satisfied for now, so with a little bit of luck she would now go along and not bother him anymore.

No such luck.