Disclaimer: Most of the characters in this story are owned by JK Rowling. But I do warn you that I own the plot of this story.

June 31, 1996

I woke up to the sound of someone¡¦s peaceful respiration and the slow, rhythmic heartbeat of a naked well-toned chest. I smiled remembering that last night was my first time. I¡¦ve always been told that your first time is your start of womanhood, and last night, I really felt like a woman. That was really truly special; I haven¡¦t felt this way in such a long time, not since Cedric died. My mum had always warned my about men. She¡¦d always use that serious all-the-men-in-this-world-suck tone and tell me, ¡§You need to be careful around men, or in your case guys, Sweetie. You need to be sure that he is the one before you lose your virginity.¡¨ The conversation will always end with my flustered face and the lack of words.

Yes, that was one of the many things mum used to say when I dated a guy. Are all parents like that? But I¡¦m very sure about this one, I know he¡¦s the one, I don¡¦t think that he¡¦ll do anything to hurt me. I take that back, I know he won¡¦t do anything to hurt me. Yesterday was my graduation and that was when I decided to give him my first time. I think we both had waited long enough; after all, it¡¦d been a year since we first started dating.

I reached my hand over to his face to sweep a strand of long silvery blond hair away from his handsome oval-shaped face. I can¡¦t help but smile as I traced my fingers around his jaw line. He was seriously drop dead gorgeous. In Hogwarts, he screwed almost all the girls above and below his year. When he first asked me out, I rejected because I didn¡¦t want to end up being another one of his whores. Lord knows that he dated for sex; he¡¦s practically an animal. He proved to me nothing more than a pompous jerk who was arrogant because he knew he had the money and the look to show off. Gee, I hated him so much back then. But everything changed when I saw him nursing one of his giant pig of friend. He seemed so caring and I can see it in his eyes that he was truly worried when Crabbe, I think that¡¦s his name because I¡¦m not well-acquainted with his friends, got hurt from quidditch practice. So about the twentieth time he asked me out, I said yes. Well, it¡¦s obvious that it went well after that. He was truly a gentleman; he didn¡¦t pressure me to do anything I didn¡¦t want to, especially what happened last night.

I traced kisses around his eyelids. Has anyone ever told him he¡¦s got the iciest blue eyes anyone has ever seen? I love the way they turn navy blue when he¡¦s provoked or turn violet after a passionate kiss. Boy I¡¦m really falling hard for this guy. His eyes fluttered open just when I was about to kiss him again.

¡§Hi, baby,¡¨ he said with a big grin, not very Draco-like. Well at least not very Draco-like before he dated me. He changed every way of his since we started dating. He really did go out of his way to impress me, and he succeeded.

¡§Hey, how you¡¦re doing?¡¨ I replied with the same grin.

¡§Great. How could I not after last night?¡¨ there goes his smirk again. There are some things that will never change.

By now my face turned a few shades of red, god he¡¦s the only one who can make me act this way.

¡§Mmm, I need to go before my parents go ballistic over my sudden disappearance after the graduation.¡¨ Parents¡K there¡¦s the problem, mum¡¦s been acting more protective of me lately and well dad was the opposite. He could care less if I died, or at least I feel that way. He¡¦s been coming home late at night and sometimes, he¡¦ll come home drunk.

¡§Do you have to? I¡¦ll really hate it if my bed-warmer goes away like that,¡¨ Draco said with a mischievous smile and tried to pull me back down to bed with his strong arms.

I pulled his arms away from my waist and started dressing up. Even though we had gone to the most intimate stage at this point, I still feel very uncomfortable under his stare. I mean he¡¦s looking at me dress; maybe I¡¦m just very paranoid about privacy. I took my wand from the nightstand and kissed him on the cheek before I went down his manor to catch the knightbus. On my way downstairs, I bumped into Lucius Malfoy. He looked at me with disapproval. He seriously didn¡¦t like me because I¡¦m what he calls a ¡§mudblood.¡¨ Oh, and he personally makes sure that I know that.

¡§Good morning, Mr. Malfoy,¡¨ I greeted uncomfortably under his glare.

¡§So I see my boy¡¦s added another one to his collection of sluts. Why he chose a mudblood I¡¦ll never know.¡¨

My face flushed with fury, it took all of my sanity to keep from shouting at him. Seriously, if he weren¡¦t Draco¡¦s father, I would be hexing him right now. But I don¡¦t intend to do that because I know that I¡¦ll marry Draco sooner or later and I don¡¦t wish to make enemies with my future father-in-law. Besides, I can¡¦t let his comments get to me, they¡¦re not true. I¡¦m not a slut and Draco most definitely doesn¡¦t think that I¡¦m a slut.

I was barely out of his door when Draco shouted out, ¡§I¡¦ll need to talk to you tonight, and I¡¦ll meet you at your house.¡¨

I smiled and blew him a kiss. I pondered about what he was going to say to me while I began my long walk to the front gates of the Malfoy Manor. Why three occupants need to stay in such a big place I¡¦ll never understand. I¡¦m not rich like them, but my parents could afford our meals and our needed supplies. I didn¡¦t get allowance or anything like all the other kids I know. It took me three years to collect my New Year¡¦s red envelope money to buy my Comet260 when I was keen on joining my house¡¦s quidditch team. Quidditch has been my favorite thing in the world, next to my mum and Draco. Now that I¡¦m a legal adult, I¡¦ll be earning my own money and soon, I¡¦ll have enough to buy a house of my own and start my own family with Draco. A big smile played on my face as I thought about kids running around the house with Draco and I trying to calm them down. Yup, this is the life.

***

The bumpy knightbus stopped in front of a grassy green house with a shabby brownish red roof. When will my parents fix this driveway? There are holes everywhere and weeds growing out of almost every corner.

Screams erupted my house and caused a few lights in the neighborhood to turn on. Not again, I took a deep breath of air before I insert my key into the malfunction lock. Seriously, when will they stop arguing? My parents have been fighting since my last year in Hogwarts began. My dad just seemed to have changed. He no longer ask me about my well being when I¡¦m home during breaks, not to mention that he was almost never home when I was home. Mum may not have told me but I know that dad didn¡¦t come home until very late at night; sometimes he didn¡¦t even came home and I know that. I sometimes check on my parents at night by using floo powder. It was always at the stroke of midnight when I go check on my parents. I knew that something was wrong when my dad wasn¡¦t in his usual spot in the living room. Sometimes, I would hear my mum¡¦s sobs from upstairs, and I know from then that something was terribly wrong. Every time I bring up the subject to ask if something was wrong at home, she¡¦ll change the subject.

I opened the door only to be greeted by a horrifying scene I didn¡¦t expect. My mother coward up in the corner of the hallway, hugging her abs with tears streaming down her pale face. On my right, standing on the stairs, was my dad. He was holding a smashed beer bottle and I see¡K blood. Wait, they¡¦re not his blood; he shows no sign of hurt.

Before my mind registered what just happened, I rushed over to my mother and blocked my father from coming closer towards her. You see, mum was the muggle in the family. She didn¡¦t have magic to defend herself and she is just like those stereotypical weak women. Father came over and pushed me hard against the wall. I landed on the wall with a loud thud and picked myself up, only to find that I sprained my arms.

¡§You crazy bitch! I do whatever I want to do!¡¨ my dad raised his broken bottle and scratched my mother¡¦s smooth arm.

I pushed him away as hard as I can which only brought more pain to my sprained arm. It wasn¡¦t easy to push him away because he was a 240 pound six feet three, fully built man. I could see why mum feel in love with him, he was truly handsome.

¡§Are you insane?!¡¨ I shouted at him, ¡§you¡¦re going to kill mum!¡¨ I was at the verge of tears by now seeing the weak state of mum. Dad wasn¡¦t like this. He¡¦s not supposed to be like this. Just a year ago, he was too in love with mum to even raise his voice at her. Now this?

¡§Your whore of a mother tried to interfere with my business,¡¨ he roared.

Within a glimpse of seconds, I took out my wand and pointed it to his chest.

¡§Don¡¦t you ever, ever, call mum a whore!¡¨ my tone was with warning, ¡§put down that bottle or I¡¦ll hex you!¡¨ It pains me to say this to father, my once loving father. God, where did my dad go? I wiped away a few tears, whether they were from sadness or from anger.

He put down the bottle and stormed upstairs. Oh my god, what am I suppose to do? I didn¡¦t come from a malfunctioning family. What am I to do in this kind of situation? I collapsed on the floor when I heard mum¡¦s ragged breath. I ran the three feet distance to her and took her hands away from her abs. The once creamy white walls were now covered with blood, my mother¡¦s blood. I can¡¦t help but wipe another tear away.

¡§God, what did he do to you, mum?¡¨ I cried, I seriously did. I used to sob. That was the I¡¦m-going-to-be-ok kind of silent cry, but this. I swallowed that big lump of nothingness down my throat and applied pressure to her abs to stop the unstoppable bleeding. I have never seen so much blood before. Curse that father of mine. What did my mother do to deserve this? Despite my hiccups, I said, ¡§mum, don¡¦t worry, I¡¦ll call the paramedics.¡¨ Please do not take her away from me. Please don¡¦t. I struggled to pick up the phone and dialed the number with my shaky hands.

Within minutes, the ambulance came to pick up my mother. Of course, I rode through the whole way with her. Her hand was so cold. I inhaled a few times to stop the panic.

***

¡§Mum, please be alright,¡¨ was all that I can say.

¡§Ma¡¦am, she just fainted from the loss of blood, she¡¦ll be alright,¡¨ one of the nurse said to me at the waiting room. I certainly hope so, if she dies, my dad will get it. I don¡¦t care whoever sees my tears now. I feel really broken right now and I don¡¦t care who sees it. The light of the Emergency Room turned off and out came the doctor with graying hair. He looked at me for a while with his friendly eyes.

¡§She¡¦s past her dangerous state, she¡¦ll need her rest,¡¨

¡§Can I see her?¡¨ I asked anxiously, yet relieved at the same time.

¡§Not yet, she¡¦ll need her rest first. The nurse will tell you when you can see her,¡¨ he tucked his glasses against the bridge of his nose, studying my face. All I can do was nod.

¡§We¡¦ll give you a call when she¡¦s awake, by then, you might want to go home and retreat a few personal items of hers. She¡¦ll need to stay overnight for a few days,¡¨ he nodded his head to me and walked away with the nurse who comforted me a while ago.

***

¡§What are you doing?¡¨ I shouted at my father as he took his luggage out of the door, ¡§you almost beat mum to death and you¡¦re going to walk away without apologizing or at the least see her? What kind of animal are---?¡¨ Before I could finish my scolding, a woman dressed in a red tube top and a tight mini skirt walked down from my parents¡¦ room. I studied her curly locks of red hair and her excessive use of eye shadows that covered her baby blue eyes. Her blood red puffy lips and her high cheekbones show that she¡¦s another one of those three-cent whores that you can find in a pub.

¡§Who is she?! What is that prostitute doing in mum¡¦s room?!¡¨ I questioned. I knew who she must be by the way she dressed and I¡¦ll be damned if I didn¡¦t have any idea of what she was doing in my mum¡¦s room with dad. I just wanted answers and I¡¦m not about to pretend I¡¦m sane at this moment.

¡§I¡¦m leaving you and your mother. I love this woman and I can¡¦t stand this preppy life anymore!¡¨

¡§You love this whore?! Are you out of your mind?!¡¨ I honestly don¡¦t know what to do or say anymore and I¡¦m not going to hide my angry sorrow. I¡¦m not about to wipe away the waterfall of tears.

He didn¡¦t say anything. He grabbed his whore by the arm and marched to the door with one big luggage of things. I blocked the path to the door but he only shoved me aside really hard.

¡§You can¡¦t leave! What about mum?¡¨

¡§I don¡¦t care about you or your mom, you both can go to hell!¡¨

That sentence really hit me hard. My dad, he¡¦s really gone now. I¡¦m officially a kid without a dad¡K I bowed down my head, letting my raven black hair curtain my face. I bit my lower lip to stop the trembling, but failed miserably.

¡§Cho? What¡¦s wrong?¡¨ I heard his gentle voice when he showed up at my opened door.

Thank god he¡¦s here, I really need him at this moment!¡¨

¡§Draco!¡¨ I ran to him and buried my face against his chest, ¡§my dad¡¦s running away with a slut and my mum¡¦s lying in the hospital because she was abused by dad. I really really don¡¦t know what to do!¡¨ I sobbed really hard, wetting his black sweatshirt.

He gently ran his hands through my now-tangled hair. If it weren¡¦t for his presence, my sanity would have betrayed me by now. What did I ever do to deserve a guy like him?

¡§It¡¦s going to be alright,¡¨ he cooed.

We stayed cuddling in front of my stairs for about an hour, letting the silence comfort the both of us. He¡¦s going to make everything fine for me, and I know it.

¡§Listen Cho,¡¨ Draco finally broke the silence.

¡§Hm?¡¨ I looked up at him still with tears in my eyes.

¡§I¡K nevermind,¡¨ his mouth opened and closed, but nothing came out after that. I hate it when he¡¦s like that.

¡§What¡¦s wrong?¡¨ I turned his head towards me and gazed into his eyes. If something¡¦s bothering him, I need to know. I want to make it better for him, like what he¡¦s been doing for me.

¡§Draco, did you tell her yet?¡¨ a familiar high-pitch voice sounded from the driveway. I looked from Draco to the open door.

¡§Cho, I can explain,¡¨ he tried grabbing my arms before I ran towards my lawn. I took in a deep breath when I saw her. Oh god, I¡K Marietta! I looked from Draco to Marietta and from her to him. As I pointed towards her, I covered my mouth with my other hand to prevent the whimpers that are helplessly coming out.

¡§You two¡K¡¨ I breathed out with much effort. So this is how it¡¦s like to be completely speechless. By now, Draco was standing in front of Marietta and held her hands tightly.

¡§Cho, we¡¦ve been meaning to tell you,¡¨ Marietta said with guilty eyes.

I couldn¡¦t talk, I couldn¡¦t move, I couldn¡¦t do anything.

¡§I think we should call it quits,¡¨ Draco said casually looking straight through me.

¡§Get out,¡¨ I uttered, ¡§GET OUT, both of you!¡¨ With that I ran towards my house as fast as my legs could carry me and slammed the door behind me. No, this isn¡¦t happening. My knees gave and I hugged my knees against my chest and began to cry the hardest I ever had. In one night, two men betrayed me. What could get worse? Right after that thought came to my mind, the phone rang. Lord, please don¡¦t let it be, I thought helplessly.

I reached out to the phone with sweat running down my forehead. In fact, I¡¦m not sure if it was my tears of my sweat. Nevertheless, I know it¡¦s one of those.

¡§Hello?¡¨ I said unsurely.

¡§Is this Miss Cho Chang?¡¨ a beautiful voice sounded.

¡§This is she.¡¨ I said, still very unsure of myself.

¡§Miss Chang, this is St. Catherine¡¦s Hospital calling. Your mother woke up just now.¡¨

I breathed out a sigh. ¡§Thanks, I¡¦ll come over immediately.¡¨ I must stay strong for my mother, I must.

***

It¡¦s been a month since my mum recovered, at least from her physical pain. The police tried to ask my mum and I what or rather who caused her injury. But we both refused to answer, actually, my mum refused to answer and I just followed along. She knew that dad left with another woman, but she still loves him deeply.

It pains me so much to see her like this. All day long, she stays inside her room, only to come out for bathroom breaks. All she ever does is hug that photo of her and father, which was taken at their wedding. God, I would kill that man for making my mother act this way! But, I must stay strong, for the sake of mum.

Often at night, when I check on my mum, I would hear her sniffles. Sometimes, I¡¦ll open the door to see her cry herself to sleep, hugging that photo. Within one month¡¦s time, mum lost almost 10 pounds. What am I going to do? She¡¦s so weary and yet there¡¦s nothing I can do. I tried bringing her to counseling, but she refused. I tried feeding her food, but she left them uneaten. Is this what depression would do to you? Yes, I¡¦ve been through that when Cedric died. I didn¡¦t eat, I didn¡¦t sleep, and all I did was cry. But then, mum and dad were both there for me; and with their showers of love, I recovered. If it weren¡¦t for my mum, I would have broken down and be doing the same thing she¡¦s doing right now. But someone in this house ought to stay strong, just to keep the rationality of this entire thing going.

One day, I walked into the room only to find my mother bathed in a lake of blood. I walked over with trembling knees and took the shard of glass from her hands. I reached my trembling fingers towards her nose and jumped back when I felt nothing. She¡¦s not breathing. I could feel my tears coming, but nothing came out. I hyperventilated for a long time before I calmed down. God knows I tried CPR on her but there was no heartbeat, no respiration, nothing; I couldn¡¦t bring myself to speak.

All I did was hug my knees and stared at her milky brown eyes that stared into nothingness. Oily black hair matted her bony pale face. Her mouth opened into an O-shape as if to say something. The once-beautiful lavender flowered dress that dad bought for her last last Christmas was now a dry stain of brownish blood. I backed myself against the walls and trembled against my legs. No tears or words came out. Someone once said to me that tears show that you¡¦re going to be all right, that you¡¦re coping with the situation, and someday, you¡¦ll get over it. I know why I couldn¡¦t bring the tears to come, because I know, deep down inside, that this will be something that will haunt me forever. This will never be all right.

I curse the world, I curse my father, and I curse all cheating men for this. My one and only loved one was taken away from me. But I¡¦m going to live; I¡¦ll show the world that Cho Chang is no weakling!

***

Mum was cremated and her ashes were buried down to the floor of the sea. It was the closest thing to rain. Rain, that was mum¡¦s name, she was born on a rainy day as she used to always tell me. That¡¦s why every time I feel lonely at Hogwarts, I¡¦ll be comforted by rain. I know she¡¦s still there for me even if everything has fallen down upon me and nothing will ever be all right.

A/N: So how¡¦s the first chapter? Reviews will really be appreciated. I like to know that someone is reading my work, just to keep me going. Flames¡K well, go ahead and try me.