When I read the Sixth Harry Potter Book I enjoy it but with an increasing irritation at the things J.k Rowling has missed out (Small little points like the fact Harry doesn't seem to grieve for Sirius at all or that the Order of the Phoenix seem to do buger all until the end). One of these things is the fact that Cho is barely mentioned despite being a key character in the previous book and so I decided to add another meeting. This is set towards the end of the Year when Harry is serving detension for Snape.
Disclaimer: If I was J.K Rowling I wouldn't be criticizing The Half Blood Prince. (This is not to say it isn't a good book by the way).
Harry knocked on the door to Professor Snape's office with the usual sense of dread erupting in his stomach. He was still serving detention with Snape after the incident with Malfoy and the Sectumsempra spell from the prince's potions book and Snape had set out the painfully pointless task of rewriting the Hogwarts rule breaking records.
"Come in" came a deep voice from behind the door. Harry turned the doorknob and went in. "Ah potter, you're late that will be ten points from Gryffindor". Harry scowled, it wasn't as if he cared about house points any more but the mere principle that Snape enjoyed tormenting him was enough to infuriate him. Snape was smirking behind his curtain of greasy black hair.
"You will be doing the usual work for Mr filch, Potter, however today you have some accompaniment, I believe you are already acquainted."
Harry gazed over at the piles of boxes led haphazardly atop each other surrounding not the usual one desk but two desks. Sat at the second desk was, to Harry's surprise and horror, Cho Chang.
She was looking at him with her dark eyes; the past year had not made her any less pretty, in fact she was actually, in Harry's opinion, she was far more beautiful than the sulky, slightly timid girl he'd known last year. The few times he'd spotted her in the last few weeks she had been alone far more often and had a new air of independence about her. She had, at least, stopped bursting into tears at every opportunity. Her eyes darted away back to her writing as Harry looked at her.
"You will be sorting out boxes 78 to 81 today Potter, I want the first one done within the hour" Snape said.
"Right" Harry grumbled.
"Sorry Potter what was that?" Snape demanded spinning around to face him directly.
"Yes Professor Snape" Harry replied slowly, putting contempt into every syllable.
"Right then Potter, I expect you can work twice as fast with Miss Chang" Snape smirked with his ugly large nose almost meeting Harry's. Oh so that was it Harry thought, Snape had obviously worked out the relationship between the two of them a, through his skill with Legilimens no doubt and expected the two of them to be uncomfortable together. Bastard, Harry thought.
Harry walked over to his desk and sat down; it didn't escape his attention that Cho was staring determinedly downwards at the parchment. He decided to reply in kind although the situation, as expected, was uncomfortable with the proximity between them being particularly small. Snape had, again evidently planned this. With another flash of anger Harry decided it best to continue writing about some teenage witch by the name of Danielle Gurada.
The uncomfortable silence between the three people in the room lasted around fifteen minutes, in which time Harry had written a series of ten minor offences by Garuda while trying as hard possible to ignore the perfumed scent of the girl less than half a metre away. It was Snape who broke the silence.
"As it happens to be a glorious day, I'm going to leave you two to your work while I serve some errands. Potter, Chang I want you at least half way through box 78 by the time I return else Chang can accompany you, Potter, every Saturday until the end of term."
Harry had to bite his lip to stop him cursing Snape out loud while Cho had raised her had and opened her mouth as if to protest but said nothing.
"Do have fun won't you!" Snape remarked as he swept out of the room. Somehow the absence of the accursed Defence Against The Dark Arts teacher had made the situation a lot more awkward. Now they were alone both trying desperately to ignore the other despite their proximity and facing a task that would inevitably force them to communicate.
To Harry's surprise and dread Cho broke the resumed silence after five minutes.
"He expects us to argue you know" she said in a clear but low voice. Harry was taken aback by this comment; so much so that he stopped writing (He had moved on from Garuda and was now on Emmery Beckleton who had frozen Mrs Norris on a midnight excursion). He hadn't expected Cho to twig on to fact that she had just stated.
"Yeah, I expect he does" Harry replied stiffly, fully aware that these weren't the most gracious words to have said after not having spoken to her in nearly a year. There was an uncomfortable silence. Cho, Harry noticed had also stopped writing.
"Look Cho, I… Uh…"Harry started without any idea what he was going to say.
"Don't worry Harry you don't have to explain anything" Cho replied also quite stiffly, staring directly forward rather than at him while picking up her pen again. Harry was lost for words. Cho certainly hadn't lost her ability to confound him. What was he supposed to say to that?
"Um, I…I don't…"He tried speaking again.
"No you don't Harry, I'm sorry for what happened between us last year but there's no reason for us not to talk, right? Especially now You-Know-Who is back." Cho replied looking at him now with a faint smile. Wow, thought Harry, that was unexpected; he was, however, not ungrateful.
"Uh… thanks Cho" he replied. She smiled in reply. Harry supposed he had better try starting conversation. "So, the N.E.W.Ts going ok?" he asked.
"Yes, thank you. Though I don't seem to do much but study nowadays, I miss the D.A actually and this detention doesn't help." Cho replied who had begun writing again but had only managed to write two words in the last minute.
"What did you do?" Harry asked. Cho grinned somewhat wickedly.
"Oh we were practising the Bat Bogey hex in Defence Against The Dark Arts and I missed the cushion and hit Snape instead." Harry burst out laughing as he pictured the greasy haired man running from his own bogies. Cho also burst into laughter. Harry had a sudden great feeling in his gut, he was talking just as he used to with Cho Chang.
"So you're still in here for that thing with Malfoy I presume" Cho asked once they had stopped laughing. This instantly killed the conversation and there was another awkward silence. Cho seemed to take this as her fault and attempted to revive the conversation.
"You know I'm kind of glad you were in here because it meant I wouldn't have to face you in Quidditch"
"Strangely I wasn't" Harry replied with a grinning grimly.
"Yeah well, lot of good it did me anyway. I didn't stand a chance against Ginny Weasley." Replied Cho monotonously. Here we go, thought Harry, same old self-pitying, jealous Cho however when he looked over she was still smiling.
Uh…you do know that…" he started.
"That you two are going out? Of course Harry who doesn't know that!" Cho replied in a light tone, the smile had however disappeared.
"And…You're alright with that" Harry asked nervously. Cho snorted slightly.
"It's really none of my business Harry" Cho replied curtly and returned to her work. Harry grinned slightly. Not all habits die hard it would seem.
"You know Cho, You've changed" Harry dared to say. Cho laughed.
"Have I Harry? I wonder why?" Again Harry was left lost for words. He had no idea why that would be. Thankfully Cho sensed this and decided to fill Harry in.
"You remember my friend Marietta Edgecombe?" How could Harry forget? The girl that had betrayed the D.A. and had a series of oddly formed pimples formed across her face for doing so. He nodded. "Yeah well put it this way, Hermione Granger was right about her! You know I was going out with Michael Corner well now she is. Work it out." Ah, thought Harry, that explains things, the new independence in Cho, the reason she was alone a lot more.
"She still got those pimples?" He asked.
"Oh yeah" Cho replied and they both grinned.
It was not long before Snape remerged in a terrible mood. Harry somehow had the impression he had been waiting at the door for some time for some hint of argument that he could sweep in on. This thought made Harry grin as if this was so then he had just listened to he and Cho discussing Oliver Wood's goalkeeping for Puddlemere United, (a subject Harry had known more about given that he had played with Wood for several years) and it also meant that Snape's plan at getting them to argue had fallen flat on it's face. No wonder he was in a foul mood.
"At which point do you think this was to be a social meeting Potter" Snape spat "You are dismissed for today, Potter, as seen as you and Miss Chang can't be trusted together, you've barely finished the first box though I might have expected as much from you, Detention is obviously beneath you Potter but don't worry I'll teach you the error of your ways next week" Harry couldn't quite believe it he'd only been here for just over an hour.
"As for you Miss Chang, you will report here for detention both Monday and Tuesday evening, is that understood?" Snape growled at her.
Cho looked up and bit back an angry retort before opening her mouth "Right Professor"
"Go Potter; get out of my sight "Snape growled as he turned back to Harry.
"Harry looked at Cho who smiled and Said "See you around Harry"
"See you Cho"
"Now Potter!"
Thank you for reading. Reviews are welcome bearing in mind that romance isn't my thing normally.