A/N — Written for Houses [G] short story with the prompt: singing someone to sleep
The lyrics at the start and end are from Cat and Mouse by The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, and the title and lyrics Cho sings towards the end are from Cry Little Sister; I can't remember who sings it, but it's the version from the Lost Boys soundtrack.
Thank you to Raven for both the idea behind this fic and beta'ing it :D
[971]
We made plans to grow old,
Believe me there was a truth in all those stories that I told.
…oOo…
"Marietta!" Cho yells, finally spotting her friend across the grounds after hours of panicked searching. They'd been forcibly separated in the Great Hall, and Cho hadn't seen Marietta since, but relief now floods her at the sight. "Marietta!" she calls again, beginning to run.
Marietta turns, and even from this distance Cho can see the smile spreading across her face. She's lost the balaclava she still wears to hide her fading scars and there's a cut on her forehead that's left smears of blood across the side of her face, but she seems otherwise unharmed.
"Cho!" she yells, sounding as relieved as Cho feels. "I thought you'd —"
"I'd what?" Marietta's knees buckle. "Marietta!" Cho screams; she picks up speed, ignoring the burning in her thighs and lungs; she needs to get to Marietta.
A Death Eater is approaching the prone form of her friend, and before she has a chance to think about it, she is screaming, her wand mimicking the lightning bolt movement she's seen only a few others do before: "Avada Kedavra!"
(She will only later realise what she has done; it will be one of many reasons for leaving what little she has left behind.)
She drops to her knees beside Marietta, her knees sinking a little into the soil.
"Hi," Marietta croaks, giving Cho a pained smile; there's blood in her teeth, and yet somehow she still looks genuinely pleased to see her friend. "I'm glad you're okay, at least."
"You're g-gonna be o-kay, too," Cho says on a sob, brushing a stray curl from Marietta's forehead. The cut there isn't as bad as it had looked from a distance, but it's far from the most pressing issue right now. "What — What happened?" Cho asks. "What hurts?" There aren't any other signs of injury; it must be something internal, then, but she doesn't know how to help with that.
"Everything." Marietta gives a choked laugh; Cho absently wipes away the speck of blood that lands on her cheek.
"I — I don't know what to do," she admits; she's never felt more useless. "This wasn't supposed to happen."
"None of —" Marietta interrupts herself with a painful coughing fit which leaves blood trailing from the corner of her mouth; Cho wipes it away for her with her sleeve. "None of this was supposed to happen."
"But we had plans!" Marietta laughs again, though the sound is quieter now. "We were gonna — I don't want …" she trails off, suddenly struck with how selfish she's beginning to sound; it no longer matters what their plans had been. It doesn't matter that they had wanted to travel the wizarding parts of the world outside England; that they had plans to move to France where they'd already been accepted as research assistants at the Charms Research Council. That they'd thought they had years of freedom ahead of them. "What can I do?" she asks instead. She blinks furiously to clear her blurring vision, angrily wiping her tears away with the heel of her palm; it had never occurred to her to memorise all the details of her friend's face before now.
Cho begins to stand; she doesn't know what to do, but someone else might. It's all she can think to do for her friend now. "I'll be right back," she says, "as soon as I can."
Weak fingers clutch at her sleeve. "No," Marietta croaks, talking clearly costing her. "Sta-y."
Marietta coughs again, producing a bubbling sound somewhere in her chest, but even that is weaker now. She doesn't say anything — maybe she no longer can — but she turns her head away. Cho gently grasps her chin with the tips of her fingers, tilting Marietta's face back so they can make eye contact.
Cho starts to hum softly; it's a song from one of her Mum's favourite films, though she doesn't remember most of the words. She's pretty sure it's entirely inappropriate to the situation, but she can't think of anything else to do.
Her voice cracks, and some of the notes are held on too long for her to hum properly, but she isn't a great singer under the best of circumstances. She adds in the odd line that she can remember — "temptation heat, beats like a drum" — but for the most part, she is humming.
She combs her fingers through Marietta's soft hair — "I will not li-e … little sister" — as Marietta's lips part with each unsteady breath.
The trickle of blood is back — "my Shangri-Las, I can't forget" — and she carefully wipes it away; Marietta's eyes flutter closed, a soft smile on her lips, and her mouth falls slack.
Cho finishes the song early — "thou shalt not die" — but the words are almost unintelligible, sung through her sobbing.
.oOo.
The job offer still stands; they had contacted her to confirm her acceptance — the words 'double check you're still alive' are not said — and she is soon packing her belongings.
She travels across parts of the wizarding world — her plan is to start and end in France — but instead of the excitement she should feel at so many new experiences, at meeting so many new and interesting people, Cho only feels hollow.
She only manages three weeks before she is quitting her job; it's not the same without …
Leaving her wand and a hastily written apology to her roommate — a girl whose name Cho still can't remember — she catches the first train out of the city, taking nothing with her.
…oOo…
Am I supposed to be happy?
With all I ever wanted, it comes at a price.