"Remember Cedric"
Was a phrase now haunting the fourteen-year-old Harry James Potter. Once again the memory of Cedric's death replayed in his mind. He carefully glanced towards the Ravenclaw table looking for Cho Chang. He no longer felt the stomach-flipping crush from last year, now mostly sadness permeated his feelings for the young girl. Harry looked away before their eyes could meet; the last thing he wanted was to see the hatred for him in her eyes.
"Come on Harry the feast is over."
Harry had been so deep in thought he had not noticed everyone leaving.
"I'm leaving Hermonie you don't have to worry about me all the time" Harry replied much colder than he had intended to.
The young witch to her credit took no notice; his replies had been like that since returning from battling Voldermort. He has so much to heal from she told herself. Once they got back to the tower Harry issued his good nights then quickly headed off to bed.
"How long do you think Harry will avoid us for?" asked the lanky red headed Ron Weasley.
"It will take more than the summer to fully heal his wounds Ron. All we can do is support him with letters and friendship" answered Hermonie.
"Bloody hell! I wish he could live at the burrow this summer, we would have him back together in no time" Ron pleaded to himself more than anyone.
Putting her hand on top of his Hermonie agreed, "I know you would Ron I know you would.
Harry found himself back in that same graveyard. He could see Cedric standing there wand in hand ready for battle.
"Kill the spare" roared through the air.
Cedric's eyes went wide with fear as he crumpled to the ground.
"NO!!!!!" screamed Harry.
That dissolved away to Harry standing in the great hall of Hogwarts, Cho was kneeling in front of him tears cascading down her cheeks.
"You Killed Cedric so I would like you instead" she accused the young wizard.
Before Harry could proclaim his innocence he held up a silver hand which was holding Wormtail's wand.
"NO! Cho I swear it was... Harry awoke screaming in his own bed. The sheets were soaked from sweat and he was still shaking. It was the same dream every night since the third task. He was the one holding Wormtail's wand, he was the one killing Cedric, he was the one Cho was screaming at.
After a quick search produced his glasses Harry looked at his clock. 6:37 then eventually 6:38 stared back at him. Harry canceled the silencing charm around his bed as he got up. The charm he now put in place every night before bed was letting his roommates sleep soundly and more importantly making them believe the nightmares had ceased.
Dressing quickly Harry looked around the room for something that would distract him from his current state. A distraction was found in his trusty ole Firebolt. He grabbed his broom and headed to the pitch for a little early morning fly.
Poor attention habits had become Harry's specialty lately; he missed seeing that a lone flyer had already laid claim to the sky above the pitch. Once the boy who lived noticed the broom and its rider he stood in awe. He or she was magic in the air, so fluid, so fast, and so reckless. Harry was about to kick off when a few observations tackled his brain at once. The flyer was female, long black hair was starting to spill from beneath her knit cap, she was chasing a snitch which meant seeker, and finally she was wearing Ravenclaw robes.
"Cho" he breathed.
Before Harry could run the Asian Ravenclaw spotted her onlooker. Their eyes finally locked, to Harry's great relief he did not see hate and anger as predicted, the only emotion seemed to be a touch of sadness. Steadying himself one last time Harry joined his fellow seeker in the air.
Cho gave him a melancholy smile and let the snitch go. While looking at him she held up five fingers as to begin a count down. When zero was reached they both exploded in a crazy frenzy to find the snitch. If anyone had been in attendance of the show that transpired over the next two hours they would have amazed and astounded. The fluid movements combined with dives of reckless abandon would have silenced the harshest critic.
Not that mattered to the two seekers because for the first time in days they felt alive, for that brief moment in time nothing else mattered but their brooms and that snitch. Eventually time ran out for Harry and Cho so they ended their impromptu game. Cho mouthed a thank you and gave Harry a smile that wasn't as sad as this first one.
The boy who lived walked back to his dorm feeling better than he had in along time. Without the use of words Harry felt something develop between him and his Ravenclaw counterpart. She seemed to understand him; she made him feel better just by being there and not asking if he was all right every three minutes.
"Where the bloody hell have you been mate?" The young wizard's best mate had woken up.
"Oh hey Ron I just went to the pitch for a final fly."
The young red head gazed at Harry for a moment, Ron obliviously knew that there was something more to the story but chose not to question anything.
"Well mate you better finish packing or we're gonna miss the train."
Harry, Ron, Hermonie, and Ginny sat together on the trip back home. Ron and Hermonie kept arguing about mundane things, Ginny would steal looks at the boy who lived then blush deeply when their eyes would meet, and Harry found himself wishing to be anywhere but that compartment.
The depression had returned though thanks to this morning it was nowhere near as smothering. Having enough of his best friends arguing and Ginny's idol worship Harry slipped from their compartment and spilled into the hallway. He walked down the corridor looking for some place to be alone. As was the case with most June trips home more doors were closed than open, students would be trying to get that last little bit of time with friends before the holiday break.
The doors that dared to remain open found occupants that could not look Harry in the eye. Most simply because they did not know what to say or in a Hufflepuff's case he was a walking reminder of what they had lost. Harry eventually came to the last compartment; not hearing any sounds he knocked hoping he had found his fortress of solitude for the rest of trip.
Hearing no protest he opened the compartment to a sight that froze him to the core. Cho was sitting alone as tears were jettisoned down her pretty face. Time seemed to stand still as their eyes locked for the second time that day. Every instinct Harry had was telling him to run away as quickly as possible, but in fact he did the complete opposite. Before comprehension could take place the young wizard walked across the compartment threw his arms around the young witch and pulled her close to his chest.
Cho completely fell apart after she felt his embrace. Tears fell faster; she began to shake, and returned his hug as if she was trying to crush all of the air out of his body. Eventually the Ravenclaw's sobs slowed then finally stopped yet neither one moved an inch, both having finally found a bit of comfort that neither wanted to lose.
"Thank you Harry thank you, I don't know how to repay you for being there for me." Cho said just above a whisper
"No Cho it was you who helped me this morning" he faintly replied "When you lose someone there is this desire almost need to share your pain with someone yet pushing everyone away is what I seem to do. You let me share some of my pain and that means more than I can say."
"Does the pain ever go away?"
Harry thought about his parents a moment before he answered. "Honestly no not completely, but it does fade to just a dull ache every so often."
Harry wondered why she was so easy to talk to all of a sudden. He and Cho sat intertwined comfortable silence for a good portion of the trip. The comfort they found in each other was something neither wanted to end.
"Harry? Can you tell me what happened that night?" Cho asked in a trembling voice.
Harry thought for a moment before responding. "If you can give me a little more time I will tell you everything."
Cho simply smiled and nodded in understanding.
"Whenever you are ready I will listen."
"Is there anything I can do to help you Cho?" Harry asked, "I know you guys must have meant a lot to each other?"
Cho stared off to space before chuckling sadly to herself.
"Harry you have no idea. I've known Cedric since before I could walk. We grew up together. We went from sandbox fights, to piano practices, to wand waving at Hogwarts together. He was my best friend and big brother all in one package."
"I didn't know you two went that far back Cho" Harry said feeling absolutely horrible. "I thought you just dated during the year."
Cho responded with a snort and chuckle. "The train wreck you're referring to was two people trying to be something more than we were meant to be. I've never felt that way about him but after the Yule Ball he convinced me to give it a try. We were so awkward it was pathetic. We barely lasted past the second task. I think you know when you find the person your supposed to be with. Cedric and I were not supposed to be together like that.
Harry just sat back and took everything Cho said in. If I had known this before maybe things could have been different he thought.
With the young wizard deep in thought Cho looked up into to Harry's bright green eyes; the amount of hurt and loss seen inside shocked her. Harry found himself unable to look away from her, he began to willing drown in her brown almond shaped eyes. There was little surprise when she reached up and placed her lips on his. It was a not a passionate romantic kiss but a soft thank you. The young witch then placed her head back on his chest where it stayed for the rest of the trip.
As the Hogwarts Express pulled slowly into the station Cho and Harry untangled themselves from each other then headed for the hallway.
"Harry do you mind if I owl you over the summer maybe we can get together sometime?" Cho asked almost in a begging way
Harry smiled "Cho I would love hear from you this summer Little Whinging is boring most of the time."
"Little Whinging?" Cho's face lit up a little as she asked the question.
Before Harry could respond Collin Creevey and his camera found them.
He motioned them together for a picture; before Harry could object Cho's arm was around his waist and she was smiling at the camera.
"Say cheese" yelled the young Gryffindor
"Now make sure I get a copy of that Potter," said Cho playfully.
"I should go meet my parents," said Cho as she embraced the boy who lived. "I will owl you soon."
"That sounds wonderful Cho," replied Harry as blush began to creep up his face.
They held the hug for a couple of seconds with nothing being said then as quickly as it had come they were separated and on to their set destinations.
Harry eventually made it back to the compartment where is friends were waiting for him. Ron watched Harry as he entered the compartment while trying to keep a smirk from over taking his face.
"That must have been one hell of a walk mate."
Harry smiled his first real smile in a long time. "Yeah Ron I'd wager it was one too."
The good byes at gate 9 ¾ were quick and bittersweet for Harry as usual. Hermonie wished him luck, Ron said they would get him as soon as possible, Fred and George silently thanked him again for the donated money, and Ginny was bold enough to kiss Harry's cheek as she hugged him good-bye.
"Do not dilly-dally boy we must be off," muttered Harry's rotund uncle.
The boy who lived finished his good byes and along with his bowling ball like uncle left to embrace a summer that he would never forget...
Author Notes:
Thanks for taking the time to read my story. This is a re-edit of a something I posted couple years ago. I am in deep need of a beta reader that has some grammar aptitude. If you're up for the challenge send me a private message. I have a few chapters written out so once I get the kinks of chapter two worked out look for a couple big updates.