Title:Scratch the Surface
Author: graceland
Summary: A mini fic (with lots of fluff!) that explores Cho and Cedric's relationship from the beginning when they are happily in love to end when tragedy strikes.
Disclaimer: All rights belong to J.K. Rowling, Warner Bros., and whoever else owns these rights.
001. Chapter One: We Were Strangers
She watched him from the corner of her eye. Chewing on her lower lip she nodded and pretended to pay attention as her friend explained in length an essay she was suppose to write but her eyes moved and followed him. She could hardly breath and her heart was pounding so fast that she almost didn't avert her gaze in time when he turned around. She could feel his gaze penetrating the back of her skull and then slide off like water droplets as he approached her but then was intervened by a massive group of giggling girls surrounding him.
Cho turned her head slightly and could see behind her veil of black hair that he looked kind of flustered and tried to move beyond the crowd. Cho flushed slightly. She was glad for the diversion and thanked her friend in a hurried fashion then slipped away, ducking slightly, so she would be lost in the crowd. She didn't even dare to look back and was afraid she would hear her name being called out. She cautiously scanned the halls and then chose to duck into a empty classroom before leaning against the wall and exhaling loudly.
"Whew, that was close."
She rubbed the beads of sweat on her brow with the back of her hand and slowly her short sharp breaths subsided to normal breathing. Cho sighed and dropped her school bag in the floor with a loud rustle. In the cool darkness there was only a slice of light that came from underneath the doorway. Cho was glad for this and took a few moments to enjoy the peace and silence.
Over the last few weeks she had been bombarded with heavy workloads of essays and the burden was adding upon her shoulders with her personal life. For one, her crush on Cedric Diggory.
It first started like any normal crush where she would watch him and write his names in the margins of her diary but eventually when she had written it on the margin of her Potions notes in a day dream her friends read it over her shoulder and giggled loudly it resulted in Snape standing above her desk sneering in disgust.
"Chang?" He inquired. One eyebrow raised very high and his lips curled in a sneer he swept the notes across her desk with the wave of his wand and into his outstretched palm. "I do not tolerated disturbances in my class you know." He said very softly tracing each word with his tongue.
It was horrendous. He had flipped through the pages of well written notes until the very end where the notes sort of trailed off into an explosion of words that Cho felt described cedric. Noble, loyal, and so on and so forth that continued into a poem she had started.
Of course he read these all aloud with pleasure and Cho sat trembling in humiliation.
When finished he crumpled the parchment into a tiny ball and tossed on her desk. By then her eyes were cast down almost bursting with tears.
As soon as class ended she was out the door in hurry barely even gathering up her things.
"Cho! Hey, Cho! You forgot-"
Marietta caught up to her then handed her the potion book she had left behind. She looked concerned.
"Look are you alright? She asked.
Cho nodded numbly. "Thank you..." Her friend took her reply as an assurance and began to ramble on about her essay. It was then she had saw Cedric in the crowd and slipped away...
Now escaping from the confinements of the castle and the small dank classroom Cho felt a train of thoughts rush through her mind.
How stupid she could be sometimes! Writing about in the margin of her paper in Potions class of all places. Really...
Finally, Cho collapsed in exhaustion and dumped the rest of her stuff on her ground and her robe which she held in the crook of her arm.
She laid down on as stone bench in a grassy area far excluded from the peering eyes of other students. The rough granite scratched her palms slightly and she wiggled and shifted slightly to make herself comfortable.
The sky was a beautiful bird's egg blue she noticed, cocking her head sideways, and the clouds were large and wispy like silk. Cho closed her eyes and imagined sleeping in one. The clouds would probably feel like soft cashmere against her skin but fluffy like cotton candy and they would smell like fresh laundry all sparkly and clean. Cho smiled at the thought of falling asleep on a cloud listening to a soft lullaby...
"Are you dreaming of a boy? If so, I wish I were him. You look so content."
Cho snapped open her eyes and sat up abruptly. She wobbled slightly in her effort, her arm collapsing under her.
"Woah, there." A arm reached out and steadied hers. Cho noticed the hand connected to the arm was large with long beautiful shaped fingers that made her skin tingle slightly underneath her sweater where they grazed. She looked up and noticed the arm was connected to Cedric who seemed to have an easy smile yet a concerned look on his face.
She shrank away from his touch feeling frozen and unable to speak but only bit her lip nervously.
"You really shouldn't sneak up on people like that." She mumbled nervously casting her eyes away from his perfection, his soft brown hair and gentle eyes that light up when she spoke.
"I'm sorry." He apologized. "I didn't mean to scare you."
Cho smiled yet refused to look up at him. Cedric was always a gentleman.
"Well, were you?"
His smile was still there teasingly but his eyes grew serious.
"Um... No." She laughed feeling silly. "I was actually dreaming what it would be like to sleep in a cloud." Cho felt herself flush in embarrassment. "I know it sounds strange." She waved it off. "Sometimes I daydream too much."
"No... It's not strange." Cedric looked upwards. "I like that you think about sleeping in clouds."
Cho gave a nervous giggle and covered her mouth. She tried to stop staring at the perfect curve of his lips and his eyes which were trustful in an almost disarming way. If she was brave and bold she would have already jumped into his lap and muss his hair in a playful flirtatious way but she wasn't. She was painfully shy Cho was studious and sought comfort in her friends. She how plain and boring she must seem to him...
"Cho..." Cedric's voice was slightly rough and he cough slightly to clear his throat. "Sorry." He laughed. "I've been meaning to talk to you sometime."
She looked from staring at the scuff mark on his black shoes. "Yes?"
"Well, um..." Credric frowned slightly. "I was wondering- Well, Cho, you're a great girl and I really like you." He confessed turning slightly pink.
Cho could feel herself blushing too.
"I was wondering if you wanted to go out to Hogsmeade or something..." He trailed off, his eyes hopeful.
"Like a date?"
"Yes." Cedric smiled then scratched his head. "Sorry, I'm not good at these things." He admitted.
"It's alright." Cho said shyly. "Neither am I."
"So?"
"Yes."
Cedric nodded his head cheerfully. "I'll owl you the time, yes?"
Cho smiled. "I'll check to make sure it'll fit in my schedule."
Like she had anything to do really...
He smiled and gave a wave as he walked away. "Great. I'll see you around, Cho."
"Good bye, Cedric."
Cho watched him walk away feeling slightly dazed. Did Cedric really ask her out or was her mind playing tricks on her? She bit her lip trying to contain her smile then jumped up and down to get rid of her nerves.
Her friends would become angry if she didn't tell them right away the good news but for now she wanted to stay in the moment with the bubbly feeling in her stomach and the warmth spreading in her body from her head to to the bottom of her toes.
Yes, Cedric had asked her out!
Cho jumped up and did a little twirl in the air the breeze ran it's fingers through her hair and the sun stroked her skin and for moment she felt like she was floating.