Cho's Chic
Introduction & Disclaimer
All Harry Potter characters are the property of JK Rowling, with influences from the Warner Brothers films. Specifically, this story would never have been written if it were not for Jason Isaacs' magnificently arrogant portrayal of Lucius Malfoy.
There is one original character, Alan. In my mind he is played by a younger version of the Scottish actor Alan Cumming, and especially has his lovely mischievous smile and beautifully arched eyebrows.
The action of the story takes place when Cho Chang is aged about 22. This story was written after the publication of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, so all events in that book have been taken into consideration. However, although there may be casting information concerning the part of Cho Chang for the film of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Cho is based entirely on the books. I have added a lot from my own imagination, as JKR's Cho is rather a one-dimensional character.
Chapter 1
Cho Chang sat behind the counter going over her accounts. She looked up as a tinkling bell announced the opening of the shop door. A tall, commanding figure entered. The bright sunlight pouring into the shop from Diagon Alley made his hair look like a golden halo shining around his proud head. Cho gave a slight start as she recognised the man: it was Lucius Malfoy, Draco's father. He strode languidly over towards her, followed by a house elf carrying a number of packages, as she stood up to greet her customer.
Cho smiled nervously. "Good morning, Mr Malfoy."
Lucius inclined his head slightly. "Good morning. Miss Chang, isn't it? I seem to remember that you were an excellent seeker, and gave Draco a run for his money. I take it you don't play Quidditch anymore these days?"
"No, I don't. That was more of a school thing. Er - how can I help you Mr Malfoy?"
"I have heard very good reports of you, Miss Chang. You have made clothes for a friend of mine. These items have been much admired. I appreciate good workmanship. I would therefore like you to make something for me - a suit, I think."
Cho nodded. "Yes, I could do that for you, Mr Malfoy. But before we go any further, did your friend explain to you how I work?"
A flicker of interest appeared in the steel grey eyes. "Pray explain, Miss Chang. You intrigue me."
"Well, I don't use magic to make the clothes. Everything here at Cho's Chic is hand stitched. I believe this makes a better quality garment. This means two things - it takes much longer than a magic garment. Therefore, if you want the item for a particular event, I need to make sure I have long enough to make it. The second thing is that it makes the garment more expensive." She looked at Malfoy to ascertain the effect of her words. She knew his feelings about Muggles, and she wondered how he would react to Muggle methods of manufacture.
She need not have worried. Lucius gave a controlled smile, and replied, "I see. Well, I am in no hurry, and it will be a novelty to see this kind of work. Of course, expense is no problem, as long as the item lives up to expectations. I expect to pay for quality. So, what happens next?"
Cho then showed Lucius her pattern books, and together they chose a suitable style for his new suit. Cho observed silently to herself that he had the kind of masculine shape that could wear anything and look good, but she instinctively knew both what cut and what colour would flatter him most. Lucius seemed to be in a very malleable mood, and agreed with all her suggestions. Cho then produced a book of swatches so that he could select the material. She looked him over with a professional eye, taking in his golden mane, fair skin and grey eyes, noticing with a start that if it were not for the fact that he was Lucius Malfoy, she would have thought him beautiful. But she could not forget that he was one of the leading Death Eaters, the people responsible for Cedric's death.
She shook her head slightly to get rid of the bad memory, and indicated a midnight blue material with a subtle pattern in the nap. "This one would suit your colouring very well." Lucius agreed with her choice once more, and then Cho explained the next step. "I'll just fetch my assistant. Alan will measure you now." She was just about to fetch Alan from the stockroom, when Lucius laid a hand on her arm.
"I think not, Miss Chang," he said in a quiet voice that brooked no denial.
"I'm sorry?" asked Cho, confused.
"Miss Chang, when I purchase anything, I am always dealt with by senior staff wherever I go. I take it that as you own this business, you are the most senior person here? So far, I have been very impressed. I wish you to measure me."
Cho gulped. One reason for employing Alan was because it saved embarrassment all round. Tailoring required that the customer be measured in various states of undress, and many of her clients were unaccustomed to it, as it was unnecessary for magic clothes. Alan dealt with this task for the male clients, and she for the female ones. She said, "Er, Mr Malfoy, you do realise that you will need to partially undress?" She looked at Lucius.
Was he laughing at her? The grey eyes looked amused. In fact, with that expression in his eyes, he looked devastatingly attractive. She felt as if she had a knot of nerves in her stomach. Lucius said gravely, "Do you fear for your virtue, Miss Chang? Perish the thought. I shall be a model of decorum."
Summoning Alan to mind the shop, Cho led Malfoy to a small cubicle at the back of the premises. As Malfoy's house elf followed closely behind, Cho thought that at least he would be a chaperone of sorts. Malfoy's elegant eyebrows raised slightly when he saw the smallness of the space. "I know it's not what you're accustomed to," apologised Cho. Malfoy replied, "We all have to start somewhere, Miss Chang. Now, what do you want me to remove?"
"Well, your cloak of course. Let's see - your jacket, but keep on your shirt because you'll be wearing your new jacket over a shirt." Cho looked at Lucius, and noted with horror that he was wearing jodhpur style trousers, previously hidden beneath his black cloak. It would be impossible to measure him for the skin-tight trousers he had ordered without their removal. She told him this with a trembling voice.
Lucius handed his discarded clothing to the house elf, who sunk slightly under the burden as long boots and trousers were added to the cloak and jacket. Lucius looked around irritably. "As we're so short of space, you can get out," he told the elf, who staggered from the cubicle carrying the pile of clothes.
Cho had been praying that Mr Malfoy would be wearing underwear, and indeed he was, but it was very tight and left little to the imagination. She averted her eyes, took a deep breath and began to measure Lucius. She did use magic for recording the results, as a quill danced beside her and wrote on a piece of parchment divided into headed columns down the left side, and with a small drawing of a man on the right. Lucius stood and gazed into space as she worked, he might have been a mannequin. Cho measured his upper body first, and he calmly and obediently lifted an arm or dropped it as requested. Cho noted the muscles under the soft, smooth shirt, and the silkiness of his golden hair as she brushed it aside from the tape. She had the feeling that she was in the presence of a powerful male lion, apparently calm, but with danger ever present.
She slung the tape around his hips, and kneeled down to take the reading, feeling very vulnerable as her dark head was at the same level as his crotch. Did she see a stirring there, indicating that his body interpreted her touch as more than a practical necessity? She stole an upward glance through her lashes, but his face was impossible to read, and he maintained his steady stance. Cho left the most intimate part till last, and nervously asked Malfoy to hold the top of the tape whilst she took his inside leg measurement. She feared he might refuse, but he obeyed without question when he understood what she required of him. Finally done, she stood up again. "That's all done now, Mr Malfoy, I'll send in your house elf, and you can get dressed again."
By the time Malfoy reappeared fully clothed, followed by his house elf, Cho had dismissed Alan back to the stockroom, and was once more behind the counter, looking far more poised and efficient than she felt, with her huge leather-bound diary open, and a quill in her hand. She made further appointments for fittings, and then reminded him politely that he had agreed to pay a deposit. "Ah, yes," was all he said. Was that a look of respect in his eyes? Before agreeing to proceed, Cho had told him firmly, "Mr Malfoy, I don't issue credit. This is a new business. There is no way I can afford to wait months for my money. So I tell all my customers beforehand that when we have agreed a price, you will pay one third deposit. When the item is finished to your satisfaction, you will pay the outstanding balance. The fact that you have paid for the item does not prevent you returning here for further service if you have any problems at all with the suit. Every item is guaranteed"
Malfoy now said to her, "You will realise of course, Miss Chang, that I do not carry large sums of cash on my person. I presume a promissory note for Gringott's will be acceptable?" Without waiting for a reply, he produced parchment and a chased gold swan quill, and wrote out the note for the bank. Cho watched him, and realised she was thinking that he had lovely hands, with beautifully manicured nails. With a start, she made herself focus on the task in hand, and thanked him when he handed over the note. "Do check it, Miss Chang. But I'm sure you'll find it's in order." She nodded that indeed it was.
"Goodbye, Miss Chang. Until my next visit," said Lucius Malfoy. He gave her the ghost of a smile, snarled at his house elf to hurry up, and swept out of the shop door back into Diagon Alley.
Cho was staring after his retreating figure when she heard Alan's footsteps behind her. "Well, what do you make of that?" he said. "A Malfoy here at Cho's Chic. We've arrived! If he likes what you make for him, he could be our passport to the rich and famous." Alan looked at Cho's face. "What?" she said defensively. She knew Alan could read her like a book. His perceptiveness was what made him so good with the customers. He was excellent with the older ladies, he flattered them and flirted with them, making them feel special.
"Cho, you like him. I can tell." Alan smiled mischievously, and put a friendly arm round her shoulders. "He is rather gorgeous, isn't he? Ah, but of course he's a Malfoy, so your head tells you he's a dangerous customer, and not to get involved with him. At the same time, your tongue would be hanging out if you weren't such a well brought-up girl. As indeed, mine is too!"
Cho could not help laughing. "Alan, what am I going to do with you? You're impossible."
Alan raised a quizzical eyebrow. "But I'm right, aren't I?"
Lucius Malfoy sat in his favourite leather armchair in his study at Malfoy Manor, a glass of Glen Foy single malt in his hand. He swirled the amber liquid in the glass, and stared, musing, into the fire. Cho Chang filled his thoughts. He had been curious to see this young woman after hearing about her novel clothing business from a friend whose impeccable taste he admired. He remembered her as a pretty schoolgirl, and an excellent seeker. She had had the potential to be a beautiful woman, and he had wondered if the early promise had been fulfilled.
The reality had not been disappointing. She was exquisite, like an exotic flower, with smooth golden skin and shining black hair. In the shop, she had obviously dressed with great care for work, in a formal, plain, dark dress, with her hair pinned up neatly, her only ornamentation simple earrings, and a silver clip across the back of her head. She was obviously intelligent too, she was running her own business, and her work involved more than simple calculations. He had secretly admired her no-nonsense statement of her payment terms and conditions. Extended credit had been the downfall of many a wizarding business: it was well known that the richer the client, the longer they took to pay, and creditors dared not demand payment for fear that the customer would take his business elsewhere. Lucius owed a fortune himself, and fully intended to carry on owing as much as he could get away with.
She also had great skill in her hands.
Ah, those hands. Lucius closed his eyes, and imagined himself back in that poky cubicle, with Cho working round him with her tape measure, obviously trying to keep physical contact to a minimum. Oh, how erotic that had been, like a tease and a promise unfulfilled. He had felt his manhood stirring in response to the butterfly touches, but by force of will had restrained his desire, enjoying the sensations for themselves. In his imagination, he saw Cho naked, with her curtain of hair freed, wanting him.
He smiled. It would be an interesting project. He would charm her into his bed (or the floor, or a desk…). He knew that she had been the girlfriend of Cedric, the Hogwarts boy killed by Death Eaters. He thought she had also been out with that damned Harry Potter for a while. Therefore, she would be naturally suspicious of him. It would be fun to be nice for a while. He could do nice if it got him what he wanted. Patience, that's what was required.
But she was interested already, if he was any judge of women, and he had had plenty. It might not take so long after all. And what a coup, to have Harry Potter's ex girlfriend eating out of his hand - or eating other parts of him…