Eklectic Chemistry
He first saw her across a cosy café. His date wanted to hold hands and kiss over the sugar bowl, but he was too distracted by the cherub floating across their table and showering them with pastel confetti and watching the other patrons. Davies, the jammy bastard, was kissing his date like there was no tomorrow while other people looked shy or simply bored.
The scent that permeated the room was one of sickening sweetness, sugar and roses and coffee. His head was beginning to spin when a single simple smell chased away all the others and alerted him to the beautiful young woman sitting alone at a table tucked away in a shadowy corner. The smell of violets in springtime was one that reminded him of a childhood before the war, before the expectations of his father, before Lord Voldemort. He looked over and met a pair of dark eyes.
She sat alone in a haunt of couples, her dark hair hanging in a sheet around a thin face. She was biting her lip, her eyes watching the door. He saw the spark of hope in her eyes when the bell jauntily announced someone's arrival and her slumped disappointment when another happy couple stumbled in from the snow. Madam Puddifoot stumbled out from the kitchen, her fat feet crammed into tiny shoes, to welcome the new additions to the crowd of people inside the tearoom.
"Theo, what are you staring at?" Pansy asked. She followed his gaze and her eyes darkened when she saw the other woman. "Cho Chang? You're staring at Cho Chang?" She stood up abruptly, knocking over her chair and the table, sending the sugar bowl and their cups of coffee flying. "You bastard! You said you loved me!" She fled from the place, the bell jangling wildly as she slammed the door hard enough to dislodge a large quantity of dust.
"Not to worry, dearie, I'll get you another table," Madam Puddifoot twittered. Theodore shook his head.
"There's no need," he said. "I'll just be paying the bill and leaving." Madam Puddifoot blinked a few times before squeezing herself back through the tables to find his bill.
A few minutes later he was walking down a snowy street. Everywhere he looked there seemed to be couples. They were holding hands and smiling adoringly up at each other or with their arms around each other and occasionally exchanging a sweet kiss. No one seemed to be alone this Christmas except for him. He turned away from the sickening sight of Weasley and Granger kissing in a doorway to see the woman from the tearoom hurrying towards him.
"I'm Cho Chang," she said unnecessarily. "I gather your girlfriend broke up with you because of me. I'm very sorry."
"Theodore Nott," he said, holding out a gloved hand for her to shake. "She wasn't my girlfriend, just a woman desperate to be seen there with an attractive man. To be honest, I'm glad to be rid of her." A smile twitched Cho's lips and she shook his hand, allowing him a moment to assess the parts of her face not shadowed by her hood. Her eyes were big and a very dark brown and she had a few freckles scattered across the bridge of her nose.
"Shall we walk?" she asked. "I was thinking of visiting the post office." Theodore nodded and they walked in companionable silence for a few minutes until his curiosity over-powered his cool façade.
"Who were you waiting for?" he asked. She stiffened and seemed to mull over just how to explain her behaviour to him.
"Cormac McLaggen," she said after a momentary silence. "He said he would meet me there, but clearly he had more important things to do." Her words were spat with true venom and her eyes flashed with anger.
"Probably an urgent appointment with some Gryffindor slag," Theodore said dismissively. To his amazement, Cho giggled and patted his shoulder encouragingly.
"You're a good man, Theodore," she said, smiling sweetly. "I'm glad I met you today."
"What would you say to another meeting?" he asked. "In the Room of Requirement. I assume you know where that is, so I'll meet you there tomorrow night." She smiled and nodded. There was a single moment when she squeezed his hand and there was a charge of electricity between them.
She was still smiling as she turned away from him and walked through the blizzard. He watched until her fragile form vanished in the heavy snow. He turned and saw the great silhouette of the castle looming over the little village. He began to trudge alone back up to the castle, imagining Cho beside him, laughing and smiling that beautiful smile.
"Cho, I know you were supposed to meet Cormac in Madam Puddifoot's yesterday," Marietta said, radiating smugness like the cat who had got the cream. "He didn't turn up because we were busy."
"You know what, Marietta," Cho said, realization of the simple fact sweeping over her even as she spoke. "I couldn't care less. You can have Cormac. He's just using you to get back at me and the legions of other girls he's dated. When he dumps you and leaves you crying in the corridors while he flirts with some other girl, don't come crying to me." She snapped her textbook shut and stormed out of the common room up to her dormitory.
The dark blue curtains were pulled shut and charms cast to keep out sound and light, leaving her alone in a silent dark world where she could finally think for herself. The world down below was full of bright light and inane chatter and there was no room for serious thought in a head trying to process the many separate conversations going on around it. Only in silence and darkness could Cho finally think over the great questions of life and the great mysteries of relationships.
It was nearly the time of year when school ended and everyone went home to their families for Christmas. With Lord Voldemort's rise to power, even more parents were anxious that their children go home and reassure their families that they were fine and well and being protected well at the school. Cho herself would soon be back in the old manor that her family had resided in for generations, waking up every morning to her parents arguing and kept awake every night by the same sound.
"Even after they divorced, they just couldn't stop, could they?" she murmured to herself. She opened the curtain an inch or so to gaze out at the pictures on her bedside table.
They showed the best memories of better times. There was a wedding photo of her parents. She was there too, hidden behind a layer of lace and a riotous bouquet of roses. Perhaps that was why they were now divorced and still fighting. A wedding that only happened for the sake of a baby never set the foundation for a steady, happy marriage. The next picture showed her, newborn and swaddled tightly in a blanket, her tiny fists waving, her mouth open in an endless wail.
The pictures grew fewer throughout the years, the happy times lessening, a foreshadowing of her fifth year heartbreak and her parents' subsequent divorce. The family would be far happier away from each other rather than together. Even if her mother just moved out of the manor instead of staying there to argue out the divorce settlements all hours of the day and night, the tension would ease and Cho's life could return to some degree of normalcy.
She reached under the bed and, with considerable effort, pulled her trunk out from under her bed. A wave of her wand had all the pictures wrapped in a protective charm and another wave sent them flying neatly in the trunk. She slid out of the bed and opened drawers and cupboards, packing away jewellery and clothes. The only belongings of hers that remained outside the trunk by the time she was finished were enough clothes for the rest of the week and her textbooks.
"Cho, I heard about Marietta and Cormac," Devyn said, walking into the room in her usual state of disarray. "I'm sorry."
"Don't even bother worrying about it," Cho said lightly. "He's using her like he's used every other girl he's dated and soon enough he'll move on to the next slag and leave her crying in the background."
"Have you been packing?" Devyn asked, gesturing at the empty drawers and bare surfaces. "Why would you want to go home to parents who won't stop fighting?"
"Christmas is the time for family," Cho answered shortly. "No matter how much I'd rather stay here, I will go home and see them."
"I don't know why you'd want to stay here," Devyn said, flinging herself onto her bed. "I don't know how anyone could go the whole year without seeing their family once."
Cho shook her head. It was easy for Devyn to say that. She was the spoilt youngest of three, her entire family doted on her and the only time voices were raised in her house was to call people in from the rain. She didn't know what it was like to be the only child, trapped between warring parents and listening every night to their fights. As far as she could see, Devyn's life was perfect.
"Marissa said she saw you with one of the Slytherins," Devyn said excitedly. "Is it true?" Cho let out a heavy sigh, realizing that this would only be the first of many questions that she would be asked.
"Yes, it's true," she answered. "His date stormed out and left him alone in Madam Puddifoot's so we took a walk together."
"So, has he asked you out yet?" Devyn asked. It was just typical of her to nose into everyone else's love lives.
"If you must know, we're meeting in half an hour," Cho said, getting up and brushing lint from her clothes. "I should go." Devyn smiled at her and gave her a thumbs-up as she left the common room, walked down the stairs and left Ravenclaw tower, determinedly ignoring the glare of the woman she'd once called her closest and most understanding friend.
Shadows blinked in and out of existence on the rough stone walls as the torches flickered in the cold draughts. Cho had never walked the corridors alone so late before and every tiny sound, whether it be a whisper of wind against a tapestry or a faint moan of the ancient plumbing, made her jump and look around for the perpetrator. It came as a relief when she reached the empty stretch of grey wall that would lead her to the Room of Requirement.
Theodore had been surprised when he'd looked around the room and seen only an empty place with a few flickering torches and since had spent the time waiting for Cho to arrive. As the small wooden door began to slide open the room's features blurred and as the door closed once more they settled upon a moonlit night, floating aboard a boat down a river. Jazz music poured from various windows and candles floated in midair around them.
"I like your tie," Cho said shyly, gesturing at the silver and blue striped tie he wore. "Uniting the colours of our houses." Theodore nodded, deciding not to tell her he had just liked the colours together.
"You look very suited to the surroundings," he said. Her black dress was perfect for a jazz cruise along a river in the evening.
"Shall we dance?" she asked. Theodore answered by taking her hand, sliding an arm around her waist and beginning to perform the steps drilled into his head over seven years of ballroom dancing lessons.
The music faded from the background but they remained in an embrace, swaying from foot to foot. They gazed into each others' eyes, searing blue into gentle brown. The silent words they spoke to each other said more than speaking aloud ever could. His hands moved up to stroke her hair as their lips met in a tender confession of love and for that one moment, everything was perfect.
And then that moment ended.
The day Cho's life well and truly fell apart was the day they were due to depart back to London for the Christmas holidays. It was the day she walked into the common room to find Marietta and Theodore together. It was the day she caught the woman she'd once called a best friend but now called an enemy and the man she loved kissing.
"Theodore, what are you doing?" she shrieked. Marietta's satisfied smile was more chilling than any glare as she opened her eyes to stare at Cho. Theodore looked like someone completely lost for words.
"She threw herself at me!" he shouted. "She was talking about how you would be back soon and how she was going to get back at you and then she just threw herself at me!"
"What are you talking about, baby?" Marietta purred, curling up against him. "You asked me to kiss you."
"You bitch!" Cho screamed. "How did you even find out about him?" In the corner of the room, a blonde-haired woman slowly raised her hand.
"Devyn told me," Marietta answered simply. "You can't trust anyone, Cho, because no one cares about you. You're just a vampire sucking the life out of all of us and never giving anything in return. You live off our fear of you and the power frightening us gives you. You're a playground bully and I think it's time you stepped down as our queen and let someone else take your place." She ran a hand through Theodore's hair. "Let's face it; if you can't even hold on to someone like Theo here, you've got no chance in keeping your crown."
"Marietta, we were friends!" Cho sobbed, her chest heaving as tears poured from her eyes. "Don't you remember all the times we had together?"
"You ended our friendship when you failed to protect me from the ridicule after the incident with the pustules," Marietta said savagely. "Devyn mopped up my tears and found me a cure, not you. You're not a friend, Cho, you're a user. You kept me by your side like I was your little lapdog and only something like an accessory, to be used when needed. I've found better people now." Cho turned to Theodore; her tears held back and looked at him.
"I just thought you were the one," she said, her voice soft but venomous. She didn't wait for his terrible excuses or any words from him; she turned and ran out of the room, away from him, away from Marietta, away from Devyn, away from everyone. Tears were coursing down her cheeks and her robes billowed behind her as she pushed open the front doors and ran out into the blizzard.
The snowflakes flurried around her and the snow crunched beneath her feet. The vague dark shapes of trees passed her by. It was so cold she almost expected her tears to turn to ice on her face. She was the cold one, the maiden with a heart of ice that no one had ever managed to melt. Theodore was coming close, just starting to melt it around the edges. It was a terrifying feeling, and now her heart had hardened once more, never to be so exposed again.
She found herself at the train station, climbing into the train despite the guard's shouts to go back to school, finding her own compartment and sealing the door with a charm. Forget about the crowding issues and letting other people share, she refused to have to listen to other people's happiness when her own had just been destroyed. She took a seat and laid her forehead against the cool glass of the window. The silver fastenings of her cloak were undone and a charm cast upon the material to make it bigger so it would hide her identity entirely.
It seemed like years later that the train began trembling and the clamour of hundreds of students boarding reached Cho's ears. She recast the sticking charm on the door and shrank further into her cloak, hiding her face, her identity, from anyone who chanced to walk past.
"Sweetie, professors can get past that sort of blockage," a voice said close to her as she heard the sound of the door sliding open. "Don't worry, I'll seal it again and no one will know we're here."
"Thank you, Professor Cadogan," Cho said, recognising the soft, gentle tones of the Potions assistant. "I don't want anyone to come in here."
"Lower your hood, Miss Chang," Professor Cadogan said. "Call me Lorelei, and tell me what is troubling you." Cho was unnerved by the woman's uncanny knack of knowing exactly what was wrong with a person. Obviously so much time spent with Snape was causing his strange mind-reading powers to rub off on her.
"I don't want to talk about it," she confessed, lowering her hood and hoping she didn't still bear the obvious signs of one who'd been crying.
"Boy trouble, I suppose," Lorelei said sympathetically. "The boys of your generation are even worse than those from mine, and I thought they were bad." A small smile flickered briefly across Cho's face.
"The girl who has declared herself no longer my friend, but my enemy, pounced on my boyfriend and I walked into the common room to find them together," she explained. "He says it was all the fault of her, but I think he must have had some part to play in it."
"I fail to see how that would require you to hide away from everything," Lorelei said, sitting down beside Cho and scrutinising her facial expressions carefully.
"Once she stopped kissing him, she told a few home truths about myself," Cho said, tears pricking her eyes at the memory that was all too fresh in her mind. "She told me I'm a bitch and no one cares about me because I'm a user."
"Any girl who needs to put others down to make herself feel better is more of a bitch than you will ever be," Lorelei said soothingly.
"No, I've put people down to make myself feel better too," Cho said, tears cascading down her cheeks. "I've been a bitch and I've tried to change. I thought the love of a good man, the love of Theodore; I thought his love could change me. I thought his love was genuine and I'd be able to change for him, to be the girl he wanted, the sweet, loving, kind girl he wanted. Turns out he didn't care about me at all and he ran to the arms of some stupid slut as soon as my back was turned."
"Stop right there!" Lorelei ordered, holding up her hand. "You'll never show them you don't need either of them with that attitude. Wipe your tears, girl, and tell me who you are."
"I am Cho Chang, daughter of divorced couple Robert and Marissa Chang," Cho said, wiping her eyes with the tissue Lorelei handed her.
"Come on, girl, you're so much more than that," Lorelei said. "You're the girl who managed to get over the untimely loss of your boyfriend. You're the girl with the highest grades in her year. You're the first female Seeker Hogwarts has ever seen! You have accomplished so much and no woman needs to be tied to a man to be achieving."
"Thanks, Professor Cadogan," Cho said, hoping her façade of new confidence would make the professor leave. "I feel much better now." Lorelei nodded with a triumphant look in her eyes and left the compartment, no doubt to find Snape and feel safe in his arms. Cho pulled her hood up once more and curled up on the seat, blinking as more tears slid down her cheeks, leaving a glittering trail in their wake.
"How could you, Marietta?" Devyn exclaimed, rounding on the satisfied redhead. "Cho loved him. I told you so you'd realise that, even if you are more attractive than her, she has a boyfriend who loves her and you don't. I didn't expect you to find him and ruin their relationship!"
"I like to do the unexpected, Devyn," Marietta said with a smirk. "Thank you for that, Theodore, you can go back to your common room."
"Why did you lie?" Theodore roared, drawing the attention of every person in the room. "How dare you hurt my girlfriend like that?"
"It was quite easy, really," Marietta said. "And rather enjoyable. You kiss rather well, Theodore, I might keep you for myself."
"I wouldn't even consider the tiniest possibility of a relationship with you after what you did to Cho!" Theodore yelled. "You broke her heart and you used me to help you do it! I can't believe what a bitch you are!"
"You think I'm a bitch now?" Marissa asked, her voice low with fury and dangerously venomous. "I haven't even started. I going to make you pay for calling me that detestable word." A terrible smile of triumph spread across her face. "You poor unfortunate souls." She left the room, leaving a heavily breathing Theodore and a frightened Devyn staring after her.
"We have to get down to the train and find Cho," Devyn said, nudging the stock-still Theodore. "I'm scared that Marietta might hurt her."
"We have to go anyway," Theodore said. "But we have to move quickly!" He seized Devyn's hand and together they ran as fast they could through the corridors, down the staircases, out of the castle and across the grounds to the train station. The great red and gold caterpillar was rumbling, the driver positioned to start the engine, the guard ushering people into compartments and steam was issuing from the funnel.
"We have to find Cho!" Devyn insisted, her voice high and frightened as she and Theodore battled through the crowds of departing students and jumped onto the train. "Quickly!"
It didn't take long to locate Cho. She was hunched up inside an otherwise empty compartment, her cloak pulled tightly around her as she gazed out of the window.
"Cho, Cho let us in!" Devyn shouted, hammering on the door and yanking futilely at the handle. Cho didn't move or show any sign that she'd heard them. "She can't hear us!" Devyn exclaimed, turning with fright in her eyes to Theodore. "Do you think Marietta already got to her?"
"No, she's just choosing not to hear us," Theodore said. "Stand back." A flash of light lit the corridor and the door smashed into two pieces, allowing the pair easy access to Cho's private haven.
"Leave me alone!" the shocked girl shrieked. "I don't want to talk to either of you." She pulled her hood over her face and ran out of the compartment before Devyn or Theodore had a chance to speak even one word.
"Well, that attempt didn't work," Theodore said. "But at least we know she's safe."
"For now," Devyn said grimly.
"Cho, let me carry your trunk," Robert Chang said, hoisting his daughter's luggage into his arms and following the two identical and equally beautiful women in front of him out of the station. A car waited outside for them and an hour later they were parking in the driveway of a majestic country manor.
"Welcome home, sweetie," Marissa Chang whispered to her daughter. "We have some news for you when we get inside." Cho climbed out of the car and picked her way over the icy ground and up the stone steps, opening the door to the house that was too large for three people.
"Darling, don't you want to hear our news?" Marissa asked as Cho began to ascend the stairs.
"I have some homework that I want to finish first," Cho lied, running up the stairs as fast as she could, through the chilly corridors and into her own private quarters. Her personal house elf awaited her return.
"Miss Cho, did you have an enjoyable ride back from Hogwarts?" Pinky said, bowing deeply. "Pinky sees that you are sad. What is wrong with you?"
"It's nothing, Pinky," Cho lied, holding back tears that threatened to cascade down her cheeks. "I'd appreciate if you left me alone." Nodding and bowing, Pinky left Cho to fling herself down on lavender-scented sheets and cry.
She'd reached the gulping stage before a plan began to compose itself in her mind. Careful not to make too much noise, for that would surely alert her parents, she opened her wardrobe and pulled out a long black cloak and dress. She slowly slithered into the garments, tying smooth black ribbons around her neck and pulling on fleece-lined boots. She applied a Warming charm to her clothes and crept slowly down the stairs. She could hear her parents talking and laughing in the kitchen, their conversation accompanied by the buzz of the electric lights. She moved stealthily past the open door and opened the door to step out into a blizzard.
She walked through a white winter wonderland, distractedly humming carols to herself, squinting through the flakes, looking for her destination. A circle of red lights, blinking weakly in the dusk, drew her to the place like a bee to a honey pot. She saw the shapes of familiar objects through a blanket of snow and found exactly the spot she was looking for within five minutes. A few spells made it comfortable for her and she sat down, resting her head against the arm and closed her eyes. It had been a long, emotionally exhausting day. She had fallen asleep before noise shattered the peaceful dusk and she didn't hear someone shouting like a demented mother bird calling for her chicks.
"Cho."
"Cho."
"Cho!"
"Cho!"
"Cho!"
"CHO!"
"I know she lives around here somewhere," Devyn panted, tired out from running through snowdrifts for hours, searching for Cho's manor home. "Can we stop now?"
"No, we have to keep going!" Theodore insisted, looking around wildly for the faintest silhouette of anything resembling a house. "We have to find her before Marietta does!"
"She's not the psychotic killer her outburst led you to believe," Devyn reasoned. "She's just trying to panic you."
"What are those lights?" Theodore asked, ignoring her reasoning and pointing through flakes to blinking multi-coloured lights. They approached the place together and found an ancient Muggle fairground. Theodore looked around at everything as they walked through the field. Majestic horses stood still, their proud heads covered in a dusting of snow. Novelty stands were barely recognisable under the white blanket that covered them.
"Theodore, I found her!"
Devyn's shout prompted Theodore to run faster than he ever had. He found her standing by the source of those blinking lights. Carriages in neon colours were still instead of whirling around and, inside one of them, sat a familiar young woman, her head resting on the padded arm and her entire person covered in snow.
"Cho, wake up, unless you want to become an ice princess for real," Devyn shouted, shaking Cho's shoulder as hard as she could. Eyes flew open and Cho sat up, snow falling from her black cloak as she stared at her two companions.
"Devyn, Theo, what are you doing here?" she asked. Theodore tried to look into her eyes, but she constantly avoided his gaze.
"I'll leave you two alone," Devyn murmured, running away and leaving Cho and Theodore on their own in a deserted fairground. Cho jumped lightly down from the carriage, trailing her fingers across the carriage.
"I'm like this place," she murmured. "Broken, old, unwanted, lonely."
"I'll fix you," Theodore whispered, taking her hand. "I'll make you young again. I'll want you. I'll keep you company."
"It'll never work, Theodore!" Cho shouted, pulling her hand from his grasp. "We're too different."
"We're perfect for each other!" Theodore exclaimed. "We have eklectic chemistry!"
"Electric," Cho corrected, a small smile gracing her face. "Electric chemistry."
"I don't care if I'm going to be tap-dancing, cross-dressing circus performer standing outside on a rainy day making balloon animals and laughing at Voldemort," Theodore confessed. "As long as I'm with you."
"You're the one," Cho whispered, her eyes filling with tears. Theodore noticed for the first time the green hints in her eyes.
"I see it in your hazel eyes," he murmured. "I love you."
"I love you more," Cho whispered. The snow fell around them as their lips met. And it was perfect, and it never ended.
How did you like it? I was challenged to write this for the Crack Pairing Challenge and I wrote Theo for the Untold Stories Challenge. This is also my entry to the Fanfiction Idol Contest. I hope you liked it and will make my summer with a review.