(AN: OK, my first HP story, and a one-shot at that… I don't own it yada yada yada… I know this doesn't fit perfectly in with the 5th book, but take it for what it is. Ignore some technicalities. :) Thanks for reading!)

Guilty As Charged

"So, what kept you?"

Cho Chang had barely entered the Ravenclaw common room before Marietta Edgecombe had questioned her whereabouts. Cho quickly turned her back to the door and faced her friend, who had promptly put down her potions essay. Marietta had returned about 20 minutes earlier from that evening's DA meeting, and had expected her friend to follow not too far behind.

"I- um… I was-" Cho stuttered, slowly inching towards the staircase to the bedroom.

Marietta looked on with amusement. "…Yes? You were…."

"Well…" Cho began, brushing her hair out of her eyes. "I was the last one to leave so I hung back to ask Harry a few things." Cho slowly crept over to the velvet chair next to the couch where Marietta was reclining.

"Like what? What he had for dinner? Because you probably could've tasted that when you were snogging him!" Marietta accused.

She could feel her cheeks burn red. "Its not like that- I… I like Harry… and the Holiday coming up, and just everything… it was sweet."

Marietta scoffed, then added with a giggle, "I'm sure." The potions essay now lay abandoned on the mahogany table, her quill discarded upon it. It was apparent now that Marietta was pressing for more information, and teasing her best friend for good measure.

"It was!" Cho defended, smiling broadly, wrapping her arms around her legs. She rested her chin upon her knees and looked distantly into the fireplace beside them. It's warmth permeated the air, but it was not the flames that flushed Cho's cheeks. "Harry and I… we're really just friends. We play quidditch together-"

"Quidditch? You're both just fellow athletes? Oh, I'm sure that's as far as it goes…" She rolled her eyes at Cho's denial. "I bet you'd really like to polish his broom…"

Cho's mouth dropped open before she found a piece of rolled parchment to throw at Marietta. "Well, I'm going to bed!" she stated, rising from her chair.

"Have fun dreaming about quidditch…" Marietta laughed, reluctantly grasping her quill once more.

Cho rolled her eyes and slowly began her ascent to the girls' dormitories. She relived the past twenty minutes… relived Harry's presence… the feel of his hands on her waist, the traces of butterbeer on his lips…

And then something hit her like a punch in her stomach, taking the wind out of her, making her momentarily disconcerted. The guilt. Upon entered her dormitory, the first thing her eyes jumped to was the picture of her and Cedric resting upon her night table.

She immediately wanted to erase those last few minutes with Harry… it hadn't even been a year since Cedric… well, since Cedric died. It was hard for her to say it, think it, believe it… but even if she ignored it, it was still true. Cedric was dead. If she didn't allow herself to move on, then she might as well be dead, too.

She sat down gently on the edge of her bed, holding the photograph in her hand. Her eyes were closed tightly, trying to force back the tears. "I'm sorry," she whispered, setting the picture down delicately.

Moving on would come later. Right then… she was trying to successfully place Cedric's smiling face over the one with the lightning bolt scar she had just kissed.