Disclaimer: I own nothing!
A/N: Humph...Not sure what to say. Stuck on Lycanthropy Lily and Intertwined so I decided to pursue this idea.
Spider Web of Lies
Cho Chang looked down at her baby; she was beautiful. She had inherited Cho's black hair and olive skin but her eyes were definitely her fathers. Her little eyelids started to fall over her stunningly beautiful bright blue eyes as she fell into a deep sleep. Cho continued watching her, tears fell thick and fast down her cheeks as she remembered the last time she saw her baby's father, Michael Corner.
oOo
"What do you mean you're not ready for this type of commitment?" Michael snapped
"Exactly that...It's a big step." Cho said, not meeting his eyes
"It's not as big as you think...look at the whole picture! We've been together for eight years; it's a wonder we didn't get married years ago."
"I'm just not ready for marriage, Michael, I'm sorry. Maybe in a year or two."
"A year or two? Wow, if I'd know this relationship wasn't going anywhere I wouldn't have stuck around for so long!"
"Stuck around? Are you saying I'm a burden, you were just sticking around like, I don't know, it meant nothing?"
"No, I mean I would have left long ago so that I wouldn't get my heart broken when I realised we're in a dead end relationship."
"It's not a dead end relationship; it's just going a little slower than other relationships."
"This brings us back to dead end relationship. If you're not ready for marriage now than you never will be."
"What are you saying?"
"I'm saying," picked up the ring box and put it in his pocket "That I'm moving on, I'm not going to be in a relationship with someone who doesn't want what I want; marriage. I'm sorry, I love you but I just can't be with you anymore."
That night, after watching Michael walk out of their town house, bags in tow, Cho packed her stuff too and moved to Muggle London.
Less than a month later Cho found out she was pregnant with Michael's child. She contemplated for weeks whether or not to tell Michael about their unborn baby but eventually decided against the idea. Knowing he'd come back to her just for the child and not because he wanted her back. That may have been a bit selfish but she didn't want him to be in a relationship that would make him unhappy, child involved or not.
And so she got herself a waitressing job at a local Muggle pub and saved as much as she could for the birth of her baby. She tossed around the idea of moving back to the magical world knowing it would be easier to raise a child there and to get a better salary to better the lifestyle she wanted to bring her child up in and also because she knew her baby would have magical abilities and they wouldn't have to hide their powers there like she had to now that she was living amongst Muggles. But the thought of bumping into Michael or one anyone else she knew stopped her thoughts. She couldn't bare the task of telling Michael or anyone else for that matter that she was having his baby.
As her due date came closer and closer Cho got more and more scared. She didn't know what she was to do, even after reading all the pregnancy books she could get her hands on she still didn't feel prepared or like she knew anything. Being a single mum was a daunting thought. She didn't have her family with her to help, her parents lived in Scotland in their old family house and couldn't just leave their jobs and life to come and help her. The idea of going back home was more tempting than ever but Cho knew she could never go back.
When she moved she stopped using her wand unless absolutely necessary. In a way she had given up being a witch and became a Muggle. In order to blend in she became a different person, not in looks but in lies. Telling people she went to a run down boarding school in Scotland which was not worth mentioning or discussing. She told people that the baby's father was killed in a car accident and that her parents were travelling America and would stop in London when they were finished their travels. When the Muggles asked where she had worked before moving she had been honest, to a certain extent. As a witch she had worked as a Quidditch reporter for the Daily Prophet but in the Muggle world, as she told them, she wrote Advice columns in various newspapers.
As the days became weeks and the weeks became months her lies became easier to follow and keep up with and everything became normal to her. She was now at a stage where no one questioned her and just accepted her story as the truth. Before long she wasn't going to be able to tell fact from fiction in her own life.
oOo
"Do you have a name for her yet?" asked a soft and gentle voice, startling Cho out of her memories.
Cho looked up at the midwife. She was a kind lady with a heart shaped face and big eyes. Blinking away her tears, Cho looked back down and nodded.
"Yes, Sequoia Tai-shu Chang. "
"What does it mean?"
"Sequoia means 'Sparrow /Always living' and Tai-shu mean 'Peaceful tree'."
"They're both beautiful names."
"Yes, they are."
After a lengthily silence, in which both Cho and the midwife watched Sequoia sleep, the midwife stepped out the room, leaving Cho to be alone with her baby.
As Cho looked down at the little beauty in her arms she couldn't stop the guilt that was washing away her excitement. This should have been a joyous occasion, something to experience with her family and a husband but now all she could see as she sat in the cold, unfamiliar hospital, holding her daughter was another lie unfolding.
oOo
End