Cho Chang Character Study Ft. Cedric Diggory
A/N: Lunar New Year was last week so I wanted to write a little something to celebrate. It's unbeta'd.
Disclaimer: All characters and anything related to Harry Potter in here belong to JK Rowling, Warner Bros, Bloomsbury Publishing, etc.
Cho is a Seeker on Ravenclaw's Quidditch team. The girl is so fast, she can literally fly circles around her teammates. She's well-liked by many of her peers. She's pretty. It sounds vain but it's the truth. However, being pretty doesn't mean she can't feel damn lonely at times like now. It's early February, Lunar New Year's eve to be exact. Hogwarts doesn't celebrate and she isn't allowed to visit home to see her family. Although, her mama still sends a care package every year.
She expresses her enthusiasm to Marietta for the fourth time about wearing her best robes, receiving red envelopes, lighting magical firecrackers, and homemade red bean cake. Marietta wrinkles her nose, not likely from disgust but ignorance. Cho knows some things don't change but still it's disappointing.
She can't bring herself to write those kind of thoughts to her family; how isolating it is to be different. Instead she writes about Quidditch practice and classes then she composes a second letter. A letter she doesn't intend to send. It's mainly about a Hufflepuff named Cedric Diggory who loves flying as much as she does. They trade stories.
He tells her about the time he received his first broom. He took a nose dive off the balcony that nearly petrified his father. When Amos realized his son was unscathed, he bragged about Cedric's natural talent for weeks. Cho tells him that her father had jumped the gun and actually built a toy broom prototype because he was convinced their first born would be a boy.
'He's kind,' she writes. 'Almost all Puffs are you know, but he goes out of his way. People follow him by example. I wouldn't be surprised if he's nominated for Head Boy. I've never met someone like him.'
After she watches a Barn owl fly off with her first letter, another large owl she doesn't recognize appears in front of her. This bird is clutching a parcel with its talons. Curious but slightly suspicious, Cho brings it to Professor Flitwick to make sure it's safe to open. Her Head of House takes out his wand and scans for any trace of dark magic.
"It's clear, Miss Chang."
She thanks him and rushes off to the Ravenclaw tower, otherwise known as her second home. In the privacy of her dorm, she unwraps the delicate paper and lifts the gold box cover. Inside there are a dozen mini red bean cakes. A note is tucked neatly into the corner.
Dear Cho,
Happy Chinese New Year! I remember you said last year that red bean cake is your favourite.
I hope they take your fancy.
Yours truly,
Ced
For the first time in four years, she doesn't cry on this holiday.