DISCLAIMER: The Harry Potter universe belongs to Jo Rowling… and she can do anything with the characters as she pleases… /teary-eyed/

AU. Spans GOF and OoTP. Best for incurable Cho/Cedric shippers above 13.

THE HOUSE OF CHANG

addictedtoheroine

Chapter 1

Undisclosed But Positively Brilliant


'Doth mine eyes deceive me?' Marietta Edgecombe exclaimed as she put her tray down on the table. She placed her hand over her heart in mock horror. 'Is this really the Ravenclaw table? I see no trace of the dashing Mr. Diggory.'

'If you must know, Marietta,' Cho Chang replied, her voice calm as she primly cut her pancakes up into neat strips, 'Cedric is in the library catching up on a Potions essay. I've no intention of disturbing him.'

A familiar blonde owl swooped low over Cho and dropped a small parcel on the bread plate in front of her.

'Merlin, you two have only been apart twelve hours and already the boy's sending an owl,' Marietta said, shaking her head. 'Go on then, open it.'

Cho reached out, feeling her cheeks flush. Really, she was never the type to go mad over boys—why, she had even escaped the Lockhart mania that gripped the female population at Hogwarts two years ago! But this is Cedric, she thought as she peeled away the brown paper wrapping. Cedric Diggory, Triwizard champion and the pride of Hufflepuff House, was clever—his O.W.L.s results were the best of any in his year (oh, how the Ravenclaws hated him for that!). He was an excellent, excellent Quidditch player, even if he was an embarrassing foot taller than all the other Hogwarts seekers (including—and most especially—Cho herself). He was confident but unassuming, strong yet gentle, and of course any list extolling Cedric Diggory's finest qualities was never complete without an in-depth discussion of his smile…

'Cho's got her goofy face on again.'

Cho sent dagger looks in the general direction of Marietta.

Padma Patil leaned over to peer at the now-unravelled package. 'It looks like a crumpled piece of… really thick card?'

Cho glanced down and was momentarily stunned to see a fortune cookie clutched in her hand. 'Oh! Oh, this—it's a Chinese biscuit. You… you eat it after a meal. Like a chocolate mint,' she blabbered, trying to sound blasé. 'To cleanse the palate.'

Padma and Marietta looked disappointed.

'I wonder how he got hold of one, though,' Padma mused. 'There isn't a Chinese restaurant anywhere near here. Maybe he got one of the house-elves to make it?'

'Or he could have conjured it up himself,' Marietta told Padma. 'The boy is Triwizard Champion, after all.'

Cho made certain nobody was looking when she broke the biscuit open underneath the table and pulled out the strip of paper inside. It read:

Miss Chang,

You are cordially invited to wine and dine at an undisclosed but positively brilliant location tonight. If you accept, I'll be waiting for you at 6:30 p.m. at the Astronomy Tower.

Please say yes.


xxx

P.S. Do come hungry.

P.P.S. Not too hungry. I've seen you eat, you know.

'Are you all right, Cho?' Padma asked, her voice snapping Cho out of her reverie.

'Oh—yes, I am,' Cho replied quickly, tucking the note into the pocket of her robe. 'I'm fine.'

And quite possibly the happiest girl in the world.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: My first ficcie! How did you find it? Yes, Padma's a year younger but I figured I'd make her friends with Cho; their Asian descent would certainly give them things to talk about.