A Secret Revealed

Written for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry (Challenges and Assignments) Ancient Runes Assignment #2. Also written for The Getting Around Challenge.

Task: Write about someone overcoming a challenge. Alternatively, write about a lover or partner hiding something.

Pairing: Ron/Cho

Prompt: (First line) He didn't know what he had done to her, but he would by the time she was finished with him.

He didn't know what he had done to her, but he would by the time she was finished with him. Cho Chang paced angrily back and forth as she waited for her boyfriend of one year to arrive at her flat. She had always believed that he was hiding something from her, and she had spent the first six months of their relationship trying to find out what it was. It had got her nowhere, and she had ended up even more infuriated when he retreated into his shell like a cornered snail. That was when she had stopped asking him questions but had continued to keep an eye out.

One year earlier

It was a cold November, and she had been shopping in London. The bitter cold had eventually got the better of her, and she was glad when she saw a warm, cosy looking coffee shop right on the corner of the street she was walking down.

She entered the cafe and was hit by the warmth of the place immediately. She breathed in the delightful smell of roasted coffee beans as she walked towards the counter, ordering and paying for a cinnamon latte when she got there. She sat down at a table near to the counter and locked eyes with a handsome redhead with the most dazzling blue eyes she had ever seen in her life. She had always found men with blue eyes attractive, and she could feel a familiar flutter in her stomach. She broke eye contact when the waitress appeared with her drink. "Thank you. It smells delicious."

The waitress smiled and said, "You're welcome, enjoy." As the waitress walked off, Cho breathed in the sweet smell of her latte and delighted in the warm sensation of steam on her face. She glanced discretely at the redhead and saw that he was still watching her. He seemed to sense that she was staring at him and looked away quickly. She smiled and took a sip of her latte, hoping that he would come over to her, as she was a bit old school and preferred it when the man made the first move. Unfortunately, he seemed a little unsure of himself, and she had a sinking feeling that he wouldn't approach her.

She was right, as by the time she had finished her latte he had still not walked over. They played a little game of sneaking glances and looking away when the other locked eyes with them. An idea popped into her head and knowing she couldn't hold it off any longer she grabbed her coat and put it on. She picked up her bags and left her gloves on the table. She headed to the door and walked out. A couple of steps was as far as she got before she heard the door open and shut. A voice called out to her, "Excuse me! I believe these are your gloves." Bingo!

She turned around and saw the redhead holding her gloves. "Oh! How silly of me, thank you so much. I would honestly forget my head if it weren't screwed on," Cho said as she walked towards him and claimed them.

"No worries, I couldn't let a pretty girl walk off without her gloves in this cold weather." His cheeks went slightly pink as he said this, which only endeared him to her more. She beamed at him, and this seemed to give him the encouragement he needed. "I'm Ron Weasley," he said as he held out his hand.

"Lovely to meet you, Ron. I'm Cho Chang." They shook hands.

"I don't suppose you'd like another coffee, would you? My treat."

Her heart soared, and with no hesitation, she answered, "That would be nice, but I should pay to thank you for giving me my gloves back." They walked back into the café, bickering playfully about who should pay.

Present Day

The memory of the day they met still made her smile, and she felt light-headed from reminiscing. She shook the memory out of her head and focused on her anger. Where was he? She needed to confront him before she lost her nerve.

Ten minutes later she heard a car door slam and looked out of the window. Oh God, it was him. She took a deep breath and walked to the door. She opened the door with such force she nearly took the door off of its hinges. Ron Weasley was stood in front of her, looking bewildered and slightly fearful. "Come in, Ronald. We have a lot of things to discuss."

Ron looked even more nervous as he walked into the living room and sat down. Cho didn't bother with niceties such as asking if he wanted a drink. She needed to know the truth now. "I tried to visit you at work today, Ronald."

Ron's face turned a deathly pale colour. Cho continued talking, never taking her eyes off of his. "Would you like to know what I found out? I found out that Ronald Weasley doesn't work at the police station. They have no records of a police officer with that name. Do you know how humiliating that was for me, Ron? Not only did I find out that my boyfriend has been lying to me for a year, but I had to find it out while looking like a complete fool in front of everyone there!" Her composure had shattered halfway through, and she had ended up shouting the last sentence. Ron had leaned back so far into the sofa that she half expected him to disappear inside it at any second. "Well! What do you have to say for yourself? I think I deserve the truth!"

Ron sighed as he stood up and walked towards her. "I'm sorry, Cho. I was going to tell you, but I could never find the words. I'm going to tell you everything now, OK? I think you should sit down." She nods and sits down, taking a deep breath. The moment of truth for both of them. Was his secret something that she could forgive and forget? Or would it be the end of their relationship? She prayed that it would be the former as she had never loved anyone the way she loved him.

Ron took a deep breath and his eyes locked on hers. "You are going to think I am crazy, Cho."

His remark earned an eye roll from her. "Tell me! I need to know everything or this isn't going to work out, Ron."

"OK, well here goes. In a way I do work in Law Enforcement, but not as a police officer. I will explain this in more detail later on. Cho, I'm a wizard."