Interesting way of telling the tale. What a sad existence for Harry. Obviously he is very committed, but to roam the world for 18 years with no contacts or close friends - that's hard. I find Dumbledore's pursuit of knowledge totally within his character. It's sad that at this point Harry and Ginny don't seem to be dating.

Author's Response: Thank you. It was part of the plan from the beginning to have Dumbledore become a point of contact for Time-traveling Harry. And I never thought of his existence as sad. He lives vicariously through his younger self and gets to experience a whole new life, One of friends, and family, and adventure, and mischief. I think he continues to feel connected to his friends and a part of their existence. Then, when Dumbledore figures it out, and finds a way to communicate, he has the opportunity to know Dumbledore as a true friend in a way he has never experienced before. The thing between Ginny and Harry, was of course destined to be, but I felt it would be out of character for Harry, even this altered Harry, to just grow up with Ginny, and let them become a couple without hesitation and doubt. Plus, I wanted to stick to the canon timing on the matter. I felt the scene where she reaches for his hand, and he doesn't notice, and then they run of together in a bit of a childish game, was an appropriate telling of their romance. Of course at that comment, Harry was no doubt thinking how much he would love to hold her hand, but he also had more baggage to overcome in this altered timeline, where he regards her even more so, as kind of a little sister. If he didn't have this struggle, he would have been too radically different in character from the older Harry. That's what I was thinking anyway.
Thank you so much for reading and commenting. And congrats on your own triumph in the challenge!