To Love Someone

Disclaimer: Harry Potter and characters are © J.K. Rowling. This piece of fan fiction exists solely to entertain, and will not be sold, reproduced, or copied unless given permission from the author (which I doubt) p

Summary: Ginny asks Harry for an uncharacteristic favor, and that's how Harry winds up in a talk with Cho, whom he'd ignored for a year. After conversing with her, he realizes some things... H/G, one sided H/C, not-really-implied H/Hr.

Author's note: Oh yeah, I haven't really... edited or proof-read. ;; Too lazy. However, feel free to point out mistakes in your reviews.

Harry Potter found himself looking very foolish and thoroughly woebegone through the reflection of the soft, rippling lake on the Chang property. He made an effort to wipe off the thorns off his robes, and even had to go as far as pulling one painfully from his neck. He was still in his bottle green dress robes he worn at Bill and Fleur's wedding, which by now had ripped, because he had Apparated into a thorn bush. Since there was a lot of damage to them, with he waved his wand and the pieces of his robes magically came together at the seams. With a pang, he realized he hadn't meant to attempt to fix his appearance; impressing Cho was an old instinct.

As Harry tore himself away from the rippling lake, he swore softly under his breath at his girlfriend Ginny. It was her fault that he was here in the first place; he wished that sometimes she cared more about the pair than other things, but it was to be understood that everyone was distracted.

It was after Bill's wedding, and a beautiful a wedding it was. It was August 1, and Bill and Fleur made the date purposely to be the day after Harry's birthday, which was the day after he had come of age. Yesterday, it was quite the birthday party, which included both Harry and Ron passing their Apparition tests. Harry was enjoying himself too much, after being picked up in the early hours by a group of harried looking Order members, led by Nymphadora Tonks, her hair electric blue, her boyfriend, Remus Lupin, who looked paler and peakier than ever, Dedalus Diggle, who swelled his hat in a low bow when they he saw harry, as well as Mad-Eye Moody and others, a hat covering his searching eye. They did the Apparition test on the spot, as it would be quicker, and Tonks waved her wand so that everything was moved to the Burrow. Needless to say the Muggles weren't that happy, but they were delighted at the prospect of Harry never coming back.

Harry too, expressed his gratitude and elation of never coming back by giving his Aunt Petunia a swift kiss on the cheek, and she looked utterly repulsed when he was done, running into the bathroom to scrub her horsey face. He clapped Uncle Vernon and Dudley on the shoulders, and happily Apparated out of sight for good. When he'd arrived at the Burrow, everyone was delighted to see him, even though the painful outcome of recent events had made everyone hang their heads heavy. Ginny, though, had seemed odd, even then...

At the reception, Ginny was staring at him although studying him, even though she'd seen him in his dress robes once before at the Yule Ball, back in her third and his fourth year, when everything was... Well, for lack of better word, tame. Ginny herself looked beautiful, obviously the better looker of the pair, her blazing red hair in a roll with several long streaks dangling down. Her dress, like Fleur Delacour had envisioned last year, was a very shimmery shade of gold. It was more like a gown, long and flowing. Ginny, however, like her twins, was shorter and more built compared to the longer and lankier Ron.

Noticing her gaze, Harry asked, "What's up?"

Ginny stared, but her eyes were out of focus, as if she was fighting an inner battle. But then she blinked, and her gaze became focused, and it looked as if one side in her inner battle had won. "I want you..." Her voice dropped to a whisper as she leaned closer... "To see Cho."

Taken aback, Harry jerked from his chair, earning the stare of Luna Lovegood, who was sitting to the right of him. She was in silvery robes, though without her butterbeer cap necklace, still had the unmistakable radishes dangling from her ears. "Harry, I don't think that's proper behavior at a wedding reception," she said dreamily, but the look on her face made her look as if she'd come here by accident.

"Er... I'll keep that in mind," said Harry. He leaned forward again to Ginny, who looked impatient and fierce. "WHAT do you want me to do?"

"To see Cho," she repeated.

"Why would I..." He was becoming flustered, distracted. From the other end of the table, where best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger who were conversing in low voices, looked up and looked at him questioningly. Harry looked at them pleadingly, but Ginny trapped him again.

"I want you to apologize to her," said Ginny.

"You want me to... Am I hearing you correctly?" said Harry wonderingly, and even went as far as digging his index finger in his ears to see if Luna's radishes somehow made it into his ear canal. His voice dropped to a fierce whisper once more, but this time, since Ginny was serious, he was serious. "Ginny... Just what..." Harry began.

Without warning, she took him by the wrist and dragged him to the end of the corridor. "I want you to see Cho and apologize to her. Think about it. If we're thick enough to die while searching for the you-know-whats, do you think you want to have remorse with her?" She paused, not giving him enough time for a reply, and continued. "I told Tonks already and although she's against it, she understands and is willing to stand guard." She turned her head towards the opening of the corridor, where Tonks was chatting animatedly with Lupin, and gave a small smile. She faced Harry again, her face blazing. "Listen, I want you to try everything in your power to make her forgive you."

Harry, absorbing her information and her desire, blanched. "Ginny, I get what you're trying to say, but I don't even know where she lives..."

"Don't you think I've figured that out already?" said Ginny impatiently. "Luna had it, so I asked her to give it to me." She acknowledged Luna, and faced Harry again. "Listen, I mean what I say when I want you to make sure that you and Cho forgive each other and friends. Kiss her if you have to, but just make sure she gets the picture."

"But I don't want to kiss her," blurted out Harry. He straightened. "I want to kiss you, Ginny. And what you said about us being thick enough to die - you think you're coming with me to search for the you-know-whats?"

"We've discussed this!" she said angrily. "I'm just as good a fighter as you are, and you know it. But I couldn't have gone this far without you, and this is my way of saying thanks!" She added to her point by kissing him on the mouth, and turned away. She began speaking again, but her voice began to quaver. "Listen. If you die, then you'll have left one argument unresolved. I don't want you to die with regrets," she said simply, and began watching Tonks and Lupin again.

Feeling touched and irritated at the same time, it was Harry's turn to stare. "You are thick. I won't die. I can't. Then who else is going to get rid of Voldemort?"

Ginny let out a noise in between a squeak and a laugh, and continued to watch Tonks and Lupin. "Listen, Harry," she said gently. "I don't want you to have that risk."

"And you!" said Harry. "What if I'm attacked while I'm at Cho's, hmm? And then, what about having unfinished business with you?"

Ginny, instead of answering, started running towards Tonks as fast as her long flowing gown and high-heels could permit. "Tonks, he's ready."

She stood up and pushed in her chair. "Now?"

"Yeah," replied Ginny, giving Harry a cross look.

"Alright," said Tonks uncertainly. "Let me just grab Alastor's invisibility cloak... I think Sturgis has it; it's a good thing he's out of Azkaban now..."

As Tonks hurried off, Ginny once again pulled Harry toward the corridor, which seemed much more brightly lit than the reception room. Drawing him close, she grabbed his face and kissed him almost violently. "There," she said triumphantly when they broke away. "That's your order of parting." She pushed him towards Tonks, and stuck a scrap of parchment with Cho's address on it in his palm.

"So, Harry," said Tonks brightly. "Seeing another girl?"

"Come off it," said Harry angrily. "It's Ginny's idea. Anyway, can we Apparate and get this over with?"

And that was how Harry found himself here, in front of Cho's house, unsure of what to do. Tonks was underneath her invisibility cloak on the bottom steps, and since he couldn't see her, it wasn't as if he could grab her for advice because it would make too much noise.

Summoning up nerve, Harry rapped on the door several times. Whirling around after the fifth knock, he said, "Nobody home better lea.."

Light filled the doorstep, and Harry turned around again, finding himself facing Mr. Chang. "State your name and your business," he said gruffly. There was a hint of an Asian accent in his English.

"Er... Harry Potter, and could I speak to Cho?"

"How do I know you're Harry Potter?" said Mr. Chang, a gruff, built Asian man with a cross look on his face.

"Er... I've played your daughter in Quidditch in my third year and beat her, sir," said Harry, unsure of what else to say. "And I... uh... dated her for a period about a year and a half ago..."

Mr. Chang stood aside as though invitational, and Harry got the picture and scrambled into a brightly lit house, magic teeming in the air.

"CHO!" yelled Mr. Chang. "HEY, CHO!"

Cho Chang appeared at the bottom of the staircase. "Yes, Baba?"

Mr. Chang stood aside to reveal Harry. "You've got a visitor."

Blushing a brilliant shade of crimson, Cho was looking up to the top of the staircase nervously, looking panicked. But then, under the eye of her father, she was paralyzed, unable to move. She was just as pretty as Harry remembered her, although worry had lined her face a bit.

"Hello, Cho..." said Harry, able to find his voice first.

Taking a deep breath, Cho relaxed as well. "H-Harry. Nice to see you here. What a surprise. What are you doing here?" She said the last sentence on a higher-pitched voice, still looking nervous and embarrassed. Not only had Harry Potter come to call on her, he was dressed in very nice dress robes, and here she was in her comfortable house clothes. She conversed with her father in rapid Mandarin, and then he stalked into another room, looking satisfied.

"Er.. Cho. I know this comes as a bit of a surprise... But... Can we talk?" Harry shifted uncomfortably, looking down at his feet.

"Er..." Cho, unable to think of what to do or say, nodded meekly, her blue-black hair falling into her face. "Should I... Should I change?" She looked him top and bottom, and she looked indeed shabbier compared to his nice robes. However, he looked a bit flustered, and she witnessed some thorns, and realized he must have fallen into one of the thorn bushes.

"Er... No. Can we just... talk?" Harry said, looking perplexed. He wished she was as easy to talk to as Ginny or Hermione. This conversation was growing too awkward. Harry raised his wand and conjured hard-backed chairs, and invited Cho to sit, the two of them sitting right in front of the door.

Harry, although not blushing as much as he would have had this been two years ago, found himself feeling very flustered and awkward, noticing the size of his feet and how strange he must have looked in dress robes that were tattered just a few minutes ago.

"So..." Cho began, and she appeared to be studying him, but when he caught her gaze, she folded her hands tightly in her lap, and bit her lip. "What brings you here?"

"I've... come to... apologize." said Harry, forming his words slowly. "Ginny Weasley put me up to it," he continued, after a moment's silence. After he said those words, he'd regretted them. To his horror, thick milky tears were falling into her lap.

"O-ooh," said Cho, stifling a sob. "I'm sorry too, then." Harry sincerely thought that she had no idea of what she was sorry about, except for the fact that if she said she was sorry, then he would leave quicker.

"Cho... Errr... Listen," said Harry, and he leaned back into his chair, and shut his eyes, unsure of where to begin. "I'm sorry for what happened between us," repeating what he thought Ginny might have said. "Err... I'm sorry that I was such a jerk to you and I made no effort to reconcile with you. I'm sorry that... er... that you had such a hard year because I was too thick to talk to you..." He broke off, feeling that these apologies were sufficient.

"You say... Ginny Weasley put you up to it?" said Cho, searching for Harry's gaze without lifting her head.

"Yeah... You remember. Ginny Weasley, my girlfriend..."

"O-of course," said Cho. She seemed to have stopped crying, but she began trembling. However, she snapped up her head and glared at him, her cross gaze a striking resemblance to her father's. "So, you're going to do something dangerous again."

"I... er... what?" spluttered Harry, who wasn't expecting that response. "Do something dangerous? What are you talking about?"

"O-o-oh, you kn-kn-know! Every time Cedric was going to do a task or something, he'd always apologize to me! As if... he wouldn't ever see me ag-ag-again. But y-you have a g-girlfriend, and of course, dearest Hermione as well! So I think it's f-funny that you interrupt me at m-m-my house, and pretend like you c-care! Just because of the orders of the only g-g-girls that you seem to care about!" She gave a wracking sob, and turned away, ashamed.

Harry was growing more indignant with every word. "Fine then," he said vehemently. "If you don't accept my apology, then I'll just leave." But he saw the look on her face, and restrained himself in his chair. This wasn't what Ginny wanted at all. Why would Cho mention Cedric? Why would she mention Hermione? This was just between the two of them.

"J-just leave then!" Cho cried, hiccuping. "Like you obviously want to!" Her voice grew steadier. "Just leave, and tell sweet Ginny and fair Hermione of how I reacted to your fake apology! Just have your laugh!"

There was a heavy silence. Something clicked in Harry's brain. "Listen... Cho..." Harry closed his eyes, imagining the look on Ginny's face once he told her what happened with Cho. His stomach did a belly flop, but he opened his eyes again and began. "Before, when I was with you, I really liked you. You were the one I fancied. I just... err... want things to be all right between us until I er... have to do something dangerous, like you said."

"So you want us to be the same as before? Harry Potter just wants another girl on his sl-sl-sleeve? What a playboy Harry Potter is! Toying with girls' hearts like no tomorrow!" Cho squeaked, and averted her head once more.

Harry, too angry to do anything at this point, just sat in his chair, looking away. Cho was in a right mess. "I love Ginny," he said at last. He closed his eyes at the revelation; it was something he'd never even told Ginny before. He made a mental note to tell her in lavish her with it, before... before. He couldn't even bring himself to think about it.

His thoughts were interrupted by Cho, who just seemed to want to get under his skin. She wanted to be left alone, obviously, but the girl Harry loved had given him an order and he wasn't about to leave until Cho got the picture and accepted his apology. "You do, do you? And you're apologizing now just to get cozy with me when there's a girl waiting for you back home!"

After a while...

Cho said, "I loved you both, you know."

Harry gaped at her, unsure if that was the right thing for her to say. He felt his stomach swoop, but there wasn't really fancy there. How could she love him after how he'd treated her throughout her sixth and his fifth year? No one could love him then, when his temper was high and constantly flaring. "No you didn't, you stupid girl..."

She gave a strangled sob and stood up indignantly. "How could you know what love is and whether or not I felt it?"

"Because I love someone! I love Ginny Weasley!" Harry said hotly. "And you, telling me how I'm a casanova when you were obviously still deeply involved with Cedric when we were going out.!"

"He was dead, remember?" said Cho quietly.

"Yeah, he was dead," said Harry, too angry to care at the moment. "But what I don't get, is how you can say you love two people." It was incredulous. He fancied Cho before, sure, but even when he was going out with her he didn't love her. That seemed like such a stretch.

"When you love someone, it's always different, isn't it? You don't care the same about two people unless you're completely indifferent to them," said Cho. "I know you didn't love me, which is why you're finding it hard to believe that I loved you." Her voice grew stronger. "But love... isn't like that. Love can be one sided."

"Then that's lust," Harry spat. "Love can only involve two people," he said, more for himself. He wanted to hurt Cho rather than apologize to her at the moment; he was still reeling from her earlier comments.

"The way I loved you was different," she said. "You're younger than me, so I wanted to... protect you. But... I couldn't, obviously."

"And why not? Do I look like I need protection?"

"Because you were stronger than me," said Cho simply. "And frankly... yes."

"Why? Harry demanded.

"You look like you wanted protection," said Cho. "You wanted it, so you didn't have to face You-know-who. I loved you because... you were alone."

"You sure didn't act like it! Always turning me off by mentioning Hermione and Cedric!"

"You're cruel," said Cho coolly, indifferently. "I was hurting too."

"But not so much you could just run off crying every five seconds!" said Harry, repulsed at the idea of someone in so much pain that they just bull shitted everything and didn't take action. "What are you trying to do, teach me what is it to love someone? I know what it is, I keep telling you. Just say that you forgive me and we can be on speaking terms so I can go back to my girlfriend!"

"Not just someone, Harry," said Cho, the calm in her voice deadly as opposed to before when it was much more trill. "Just... someone you can be honest with."

Harry stared at her for the longest moment. Ginny's voice rang in his ears. "Kiss her if you have to, but just make sure she gets the picture!" His stomach swelled at the thought of her.

"Harry, do you know why it was so easy to tell you that I used to love you?" said Cho. Harry observed her, as if looking at her for the first time. At 18, she was a young woman, much more mature than she was two years ago. Much, much more mature, he noticed.

Harry shook his head no.

"Because," her eyes filling with tears once, "I don't anymore."

Once again, there was a heavy silence.

"So... we're good then?" Harry said, breaking the silence, straightening, ready to leave. "I'm sorry I couldn't return your feelings," he murmured.

"Be careful," said Cho. She repeated some of his earlier apologies back to him. " I want you to know that I'm sorry for reacting like I did. I'm sorry for ignoring you. And... go get him."

Harry felt a warm feeling spread from his stomach to the tips of his fingers and toes. "Cho...?"

"You-know-who, of course," she said simply. She too, observed Harry as if looking at him for the first time. There was a bridge between them. Cho, hardened, love starved, older, more mature. Harry loved, was loved, and was in love. That's what made him younger, which set him apart from Cho, which made him positive that he couldn't love her. Her feelings for her then and now were nothing compared to his feelings for Ginny and maybe to a lesser extent, Hermione.

"Thanks," he murmured.

"Don't kill yourself, and treat Ginny well, Harry." It was the first time she'd mentioned Ginny by name.

And she beckoned Harry toward the door, where Tonks was waiting, questioningly. Even though he'd had the realization that he could not love her the way that he loved Ginny, he knew, at that moment, what it was like to love differently.

"See you, Harry," she said, uncertainty in her voice.

He turned around, his gaze sad with farewell."No, Cho. This is 'good bye'."

Fin.