Title: Looking Back
Rating: T
Pairing(s)/Character(s): Dudley/Cho, Past Cedric/Cho and Dudley/ofc
Warnings: Referenced Character Death
Disclaimer: Don't own 'em - not making any money off 'em. Dern it.
Word Count: 1,039
Summary: Dudley and Cho celebrate their fifth anniversary and think about how far they have come.
Notes: In this AU, Cedric lived through the war.
Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition: Season 2 – Round 5 – Montrose Magpies -Chaser 2 – Mod Head!Canon: The Muggle man Cho Chang marries is Dudley Dursley. Prompts - 2. (word) Demure / 8. (colour) dusty pink / 9. (word) Dangerous
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry: Hedge Maze - (word) buzz
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry:[Writing Club!] The Word Prompt Express - Prompt Used - 193. Creative
Cho's smile was demure as she looked at her husband's reflection through the mirror. She fixed the sleeves of her dusty pink dress so they laid flat as she murmured, "I'm glad you're home."
Dudley came up to her, wrapping his strong arms around her small waist. "It's our five-year anniversary. Where else would I be? Besides, the creative juices weren't flowing at the office, so I called it quits early."
Cho rolled her eyes. Anyone who knew Dudley as a kid couldn't believe he had become a newspaper reporter of all things, but he loved the job. And those who knew about the magical world couldn't believe he willingly married a witch, despite the prejudice he was taught. They completed each other in a way they both feared would never happen again, though.
She turned and faced him, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Can you believe we made it five years?" she asked, staring into his warm hazel eyes.
He squeezed her to him. "Sometimes I feel like it's a dream. That I never got over Sally, and I'm still mourning her death, wallowing in my small apartment with empty beer cans littering the floor."
Her heart clenched at the despair she heard in his voice. "I feel the same way when it comes to thinking about Cedric, but we're together, and we're stronger now."
They moved to their bed and sat down on it. Dudley slouched comfortably while Cho sat up straight, prim and proper. He took her hand, turned it, and kissed her palm.
She sighed breathlessly and thought about how and when they had met.
Cho and Cedric had both fought in the final battle and survived, marrying soon after. They were happy together for four years until tragedy happened and Cedric was taken away from her by a cruel twist of fate. She thought she would never find love again.
She met up with Harry Potter for lunch one day. They had become friends somewhat, and he looked in on her sometimes, checking up to see how she was coping. He mentioned he had a Muggle cousin that was his age, one he didn't have a good relationship with when he was a kid, but now they were bridging the gap and actually trying to be family. His cousin, Dudley, had recently lost his wife in a car crash and was mourning.
Cho hadn't been sure why he was telling her this, but she thanked him anyway and went home to her lonely house. House. No longer a home. It hadn't been a home since Cedric's death.
She tried to put Dudley out of her mind. What did she care about Harry's Muggle cousin? No matter how much she tried to push him out of her thoughts, she couldn't stop thinking about Dudley, and wondering how he was dealing with his loss.
A couple of weeks after her lunch with Harry she found herself in the Muggle world, following Harry's directions and quickly finding where Dudley lived.
The sight she came upon when he opened his door was horrible, and she realized she wasn't the only who didn't know how to cope with the death of a spouse.
Cho explained who she was, her relationship with Harry, and how their situations were so similar that maybe they could lean on each other.
And lean they did. It was six months into their odd little relationship when Cho felt the first flutter in her stomach, as her skin buzzed with awareness, as his eyes looked at her in an interested, but hesitant way.
This feeling was dangerous. The only person that ever made her feel like this was Cedric, and to experience the fluttering for someone new seemed so much like a betrayal to her late husband.
It didn't matter. It wasn't like anything was going to happen between the two of them. They were just friends.
Cho told herself that over and over again. It became a silent mantra.
Over a month later, Dudley cancelled their weekly get together, and Cho tried to not let it bother her. Still, she wondered, 'Is he meeting another girl? Does he like her more than me?' That was when she began to realize her feelings weren't going away like she wanted them to.
The next night, Cho showed up at Dudley's apartment.
"Cho?" he asked.
"I like you, but I don't want to."
He could have taken it to mean as 'friendship like,' but he didn't. "I like you too, and I feel so guilty about it."
"Like you're betraying Sally, right? That's how I feel about Cedric," Cho remarked.
"What do we do?" Dudley asked.
"I don't know."
That was the only conversation they had about their budding feelings. They lasted another couple of months as friends before they kissed for the first time. Dudley did all the work, while she allowed it passively. She thought about pretending it didn't happen, but she couldn't hurt Dudley like that after he took the chance. And she didn't want to pretend any more.
Cedric had been gone almost two years. Maybe it was time to finally move on; she was sure Cedric wouldn't want her to mourn him forever. She told Dudley this, and he agreed that Sally would want the same thing for him.
And the next time when Dudley kissed her, she hesitated, but returned the gentle pressure.
And that was the beginning of their journey back to happiness. It was another two years before they married, but by then, they knew it was the right thing for them.
Flash-forward to now, and they were celebrating their five-year wedding anniversary.
"Where has the time gone?" Cho mused out loud.
Dudley leaned over and kissed her on the neck. "I don't know, but I'm glad we lost track of it with each other. I'll get dressed so we can get out of here for dinner."
Cho watched him enter their bathroom and smiled softly. She would never forget Cedric, and she knew Dudley felt the same about Sally, but she was glad she was able to let herself be happy with Dudley.
She couldn't even imagine where she would be, if it wasn't for her husband.