This is my first time going at it, and these ideas have been in my head for a few days now. I really felt moved to share them here with you, so I hope that this one-shot is to your liking. Just as the story summary has briefly mentioned, this is a sort of AU, Alternate Universe, in which it takes place sometime after Deathly Hallows. Just some random thoughts that should not be taken too seriously, while at the same time could be a realistic possibility if canon had not stirred into the direction that it has taken…
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. The series belongs to J.K. Rowling.
Ugh… My head… What happened…?
"I'm glad that you are finally waking up, Harry," a soft-spoken, familiar voice said, a light Scottish accent accentuating the words. Harry's consciousness was stirring back into activity. His vision was blurry as he was opening up his captivating emerald eyes. Even though his glasses were still placed upon his face according to his reactivating sensory perception, he had difficulty accepting the situation that his eyes were currently perceiving once it all cleared up.
"What… Cho? …" Harry mumbled. The first being that came into his vision was indeed the young Asian witch, Cho Chang, who was a year older than he was in Hogwarts. He certainly did not expect to see her anytime soon, nor did he expect to discover that he was in a large and seemingly grand room with her. He certainly did not expect to find him lying upon a bed, and he certainly did not expect to find his entire body bound and unable to move. There were no ropes, so the only conclusion that came to mind upon testing his mobility was that he was under some sort of Jinx.
"I hope these robes are to your liking," Cho immediately brought up. Harry's focus was brought upon her person, confused on her sudden changing of the subject. Indeed, she was wearing fantastic robes that appeared to be made of silk. They were red in color with gold lining; strange enough, those colors represented the house of Gryffindor, where he belonged to back in Hogwarts. She was from Ravenclaw, so her colors should have been blue and silver of the sort. There were also patterns of golden Chinese dragons designed along her robes, as to further signify her oriental background. Cho blushed mildly as Harry's gaze remained upon her.
"Uh, Cho, what's going on?" Harry asked slowly, attempting to get his bearings back before anything else. His current assessment of the situation did not appear well for him, despite how lovely Cho looked in her robes. He was in a room alone with his first love, which he had moved beyond and had gotten over for a certain amount of time now. "I mean no offense, but I certainly do not remember being with you prior to waking. How did I even get here?"
"Oh, you don't need to worry about that little detail now, Harry," Cho replied, smiling rather innocently. "You're safe with me; that's all that matters now."
"Safe… with you?" Harry repeated cautiously. He attempted to move his arms again, but they were still magically locked to his sides. He also tried to feel for his wand in his pants pockets, but it was not there.
"Looking for this?" Cho asked, holding up his wand in her hand after unveiling it from her rather large sleeve. Harry's eyes widened in shock upon discovery; it did not help that her casual sweetness was playing off from his reaction.
"Cho, my wand. Give it here."
"You won't be needing it."
"I'm serious, Cho. Why am I even bound up?"
"I rescued you and took you back to my home to ensure your safety," Cho answered, still smiling while holding his wand playfully with her delicate fingers.
"I guess I should thank you then," Harry said, Cho's smile brightening upon hearing him. "But I have to get back home."
"What do you mean, Harry?" Cho replied, acting genuinely confused from his statement. "You are home."
Harry stiffened upon these words. That was not the response that he was exactly looking for, nor was it one that he would be suddenly accepting of. But in any other case, he did his best to remain calm. After all, it had been a couple of years, a good amount of time, since the defeat of Voldemort, the Dark Lord. The war had been over. The remaining Death Eaters were being rounded up by the Ministry of Magic and the Order of the Phoenix. The Wizarding World was at peace, along with the Muggle World. So then, there should be no other reason for him to panic in the presence of a former girlfriend, seemingly captured and placed at her mercy.
"Cho… please listen to me," Harry began.
"I'm listening to you, all ears," Cho immediately answered, not once breaking out from her innocent façade. Harry took a deep breath. Talking to her appeared to be harder than he thought, especially if she continued that suspiciously sweet attitude of hers.
"I… I shouldn't be here. I remember now that I'm supposed to be at the Burrow."
"With the Weasley family? With Ginny?"
"Yes, with them. I have to go back to them. I have to be with them."
"I'm afraid that you're mistaken, Harry."
"Why's that?" Harry hesitated, fearing what the answer would be.
"Because we're currently out of London now," Cho answered as though it was the simplest thing to say. Harry gaped, completely out of words to express properly of his sentiments towards the way she answered him and the answer itself. "We're in one of my extended family's mansions in China. Like I said, you will be safe here and be taken care of." Harry could not believe what he just heard from her. They were away from the main hub of the Wizarding World in a large country in Asia. He never would have guessed that he would ever wind up here. He only knew so much of China, as well as the minor influence of magic around the country. Because of the communistic government in China, there were greater restrictions on magic than anywhere else in the known world.
"Cho…," Harry began again, maintaining his rising panic the best he could without freaking out the lovely Asian witch sitting before him. "I don't understand. Why am I here? Why did you bring me here to China?"
"To be with you, of course," Cho smiled as she continued to fiddle with Harry's wand in her hands. "I'm sure you want an explanation for all this though, right?"
"Please…"
"Very well, Harry Potter," Cho sighed, straightening herself to be in the right mood to address him. She quit the innocent act, laying her hands and the wand upon her lap. "I thought that all of this would be rather obvious to you. My robes, your being in my bedroom, and our location deep within the heart of China…"
"I already understood the fact that I'm your captive," Harry brought up, by Cho calmly held up a hand to his face, signifying that he ought to hold his peace. A short moment later, she began stroking his cheek, much to his surprise.
"I want you to understand this, Harry Potter," Cho sighed again, smiling softly as she stroked his face. "The fact that we have had our differences and hardships a few years ago is something that I want to finally leave behind. Cedric's death… our time in the D.A… the Second War… everything else…" Harry continued to look up to her rather melancholic expression; it was quite the noticeable change from earlier.
"Well, if it's any consolation, I feel bad that you went through the things you did," Harry said. "I also feel bad for the way I treated you then, for not fully understanding you then. You didn't deserve it. I'm sorry." Cho smiled affectionately, moving her hand up to his messy black hair this time.
"Harry, you're such a fine gentleman. It would be a young witch's dream come true to be with you. Not because you're known as the Boy Who Lived. Not because your reputation as an incredible Seeker from Gryffindor has reached various Quidditch leagues. Not because of you defeating V-Vol… You-Know-Who." Cho mildly shuddered; even then, she had not fully mustered the courage to say Voldemort's true name. It was another reason she admired Harry, because he was and is able to say it without cowering over that dreaded name. "It's taken me so long to finally come to grips with this feeling. It's eaten away in me for so long now, I could have been driven to insanity if I continued to tease it. "
"W-What are you saying?" Harry asked nervously. He had the idea of what she was going to say. How he was going to react to it was another story. He watched as Cho stood out of the chair. Things were becoming surreal. He could swear that he was imagining Cho's visage through a fragile mirror. A mirror, at least he felt, perfectly reflected her personality as he knew. Fragile… Tender… Plain, yet reflects the beauty of infinite dimensions that cross into yet when held up to another mirror… At that moment as Cho smiled, he could swear that there was a small, jagged crack dividing it, splitting that mirror. It was a creepy sight to imagine.
"I am in love with you, Harry James Potter," she leaned closer, placing a firm grip on his head as to allow herself a look into his deep, yet rather frightened emerald green eyes, "and it will always be that way for time and eternity."
No… Harry restrained himself from saying anything else before the rather instable witch confessing herself before him. He did not want to break away at the twisted mirror any more. She shouldn't do this to herself…
"You're scared," Cho whispered, her face inches away from his. He felt her warm breath flow to his cheek. She leaned closer and placed a quick chaste kiss on his lips, much to his fright and surprise. Harry tried to pull away, but she maintained a hold on to the back of his head with her hand. "There's nothing to be scared of, Harry. I'm not going to harm you."
"Cho, listen to me," Harry repeated breathlessly. "I'm telling you again that I'm not supposed to be here. I don't belong here. I belong—."
"With Ginny Weasley?" Cho filled in, sounding rather casual about it. Harry was able to nod slowly as Cho released her hold on his head. She shook her head disapprovingly. "I'm afraid that will not be the case."
"What… do you mean…?"
"What I mean, Harry, is that I love you and despite the hardships we've both been through, I will not give up on you no matter what," Cho replied lovingly. She placed her hand back upon his face, stroking him. "That is why you are here with me now and not with her. I'm sure you can figure out the rest on how this has come to be. You really are a smart wizard, more than you've given yourself credit for." Harry wanted to squirm away, but the Jinx he was still under had completed bounded his limbs to his body. His wand was still in Cho's possession, so there was no chance for a counterspell.
"Cho, I'm sorry to say this, but… I'm in love with Ginny now," Harry explained as reasonably as he could. Cho continued to stroke his face. She did not appear as she even listened, having lost herself in her own world. She's been through a lot. Did everything that's happened all really make her like this?
"Harry, I love you and I hope to amend the bonds that used to hold us together," Cho said, leaning close to him once more and planting more kisses along the side of his face. Harry fruitlessly struggled. "There really is no use escaping."
"Cho, listen to yourself!" Harry interrupted. He did not want this to continue any longer than necessary. She continued to place kisses along his cheek in an attempt to quiet him. "'No use escaping'? This isn't the Cho Chang that I knew back at our days in Hogwarts. You're only deluding yourself by doing this. You can escape the past. You can be happier than this. Just let it go!"
"Let… what… go…?" Cho smirked in between her kisses, all the more somehow retaining a piece of her once innocent persona. "You said it yourself on how much I've been through. In this case, I have nothing to lose."
"N-Nothing to lose?"
"Yes, that's correct." She ceased on her kisses and took her seat on the bed next to his head. "You've seen it for yourself. I lost Cedric. I lost the trust of the members of the D.A. I lost contact with all my friends after finishing Hogwarts. I lost several loved ones during the war against the Death Eaters. And I nearly lost you, since that year when Professor Umbridge filled in as the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. How foolish I was for taking your friendship for granted. But you know what? It'll all be okay because we're back together again. I haven't lost what I had for you and I know that you haven't lost the tender feelings you held for me. I remember how much you fancied me in the past, and if I wasn't such a prat back then, then I wouldn't be suffering this much heartache at this point."
"I could also add that you're losing your hold on reality, but I believe that would be pushing my luck," Harry mentioned. She certainly was not the same Cho Chang he knew. Speaking of the girl, she merely sighed and shrugged.
"Like I said, my dear Harry," Cho continued affectionately, "that I love you and will do anything to win you back. I have nothing to lose now. I know deep down that you still love me and that you're just being your shy self. You're just too cute!"
"But Cho… That part of our lives is over," Harry attempted, even though he could tell that any other response would wind up pointless. "Just lose this act and you'll be free. Please! For me…" Cho sighed again, playing her fingers into the strands of her long, silky black hair. Her hair, for the most part, was tied up, but there were a couple of bangs that strayed from the tying up that framed her face quite nicely. Even Harry would admit that she was quite the beauty.
"You're not going anywhere until I prove my love for you, Harry."
"You're not listening to me, Cho! I can't love you. I don't love you as much as you say you love me. I'm with Ginny now!" Harry basically spewed off, catching his breath from releasing the pent-up intensity of his point. Cho was taken aback from his outburst. "Listen, what happened in the past… it's all in the past. I already feel bad enough that I might have messed with your emotions. I did fancy you, but back then, it was… just complicated. I mean, you were with Cedric and…"
"Oh, Harry, you don't need to worry about that detail now," Cho spoke up, having recovered from his shout. "I used to feel the same way when I was getting to be with you after what happened to Cedric. And I'll admit that I might have been using you as well to help control my emotions and anguish." She looked down to her feet bashfully and took another deep breath. "But now I realize what I do want for my life."
"… And that would be?"
"It's as you said, love," Cho resumed, winking. "To move on from the past and let go. I realized how weepy and wishy-washy I became, which is why I am going to make my amends with you. I know that Cedric wouldn't want me to mourn for him for the rest of my days. And truthfully, I can see that same love he had for me in you, Harry. I have nothing to lose now. I have everything I could ever hope for in my abysmal life now that I've taken the necessary action."
"But seriously? Kidnapping me and taking me to China?"
"No plan is ever free from consequence, which is why I had chosen which consequences I would be willing to go through, just to be with you. Oh, I've dreamt for this moment for so long." She began to sound a bit like her old schoolgirl self, happier and more carefree like the wind. Harry could somehow still imagine the demented crack of the mirror reflecting her face. He was certainly not enjoying the show.
I could accept her friendship again, but I cannot accept her falling away from sanity…
"I've longed to be happy again," Cho continued, staring into space. "I've recalled the last precious moments of happiness ever had been spending it with you, learning more spells in Dumbledore's Army from you. I've been able to hold my own even against Death Eaters, and to that, you have my eternal love and gratitude." She rested her hand again into Harry's hair as she herself lied down next to him, face to face. "I've dreamt for a bright future in spite of the bad things that had happened to me. I dreamt how we would mend our relationship back together, how we would fall back in love…" A few tears started to stream from Cho's dark eyes. "I've dreamt of starting a wonderful, magical family with you, Harry. Oh, what a doting mother and loving wife I would be for you."
"Cho…"
"A girl that's willing to give everything to be with the man she loves now, I can't have that taken away from me now," Cho sighed, shivering from the sniffles and tears from her imaginations. "Please understand, Harry, that I've had that happen to me once with Cedric, even though we never really made it far in our relationship, not as others expressed. But I didn't care what they thought about me. I want this chance to be with you, and for you to be mine and mine alone. I'm not going to lose you again."
"I thought you said you had nothing left to lose?"
"You are correct in one sense of the definition, but your attempted narrow-mindedness is really adorable," Cho smiled, placing a kiss on his forehead this time. "Fortunately, I won't be losing you anytime soon. No one else knows that you're here in China. I know this region all too well. Besides, if your aspirant girlfriend attempts to take you away from me…" A cold chill descended upon them as Harry looked into Cho's dark, empty eyes. "… There really is no telling what I will do to that poor girl." Harry had been striving to control his emotions until now, that he could only handle so much being under her feet.
"Cho, I'm warning you that it's not going to be the same," Harry began calmly, a bit of edginess seething in his tone. "I still have feelings for Ginny Weasley. What I have for you now is not what you hoped for. I've moved on. I strongly suggest you do the same before I get angry with you." He was already angry with her to begin with for the obvious abduction and situation he was in.
"Oh, Harry," Cho sighed. She attempted to steal another kiss from him, but he managed to roll away from her on the bed, facing the wall instead of her pretty face. "I know that's not true. And I know that you know that it's not true. You still love me and I will reawaken those passions you had and still have for me. I promise you."
"There's no need for you."
"I'm giving you so many things I can offer you. I've always imagined what it would be like to have our relationship finally amended. For you to express that love you've always had, filling me with your seed while I'm overjoyed with the role to be the bearer for your beautiful children…" She blushed rather wildly at her own words. Harry merely wound up starstruck, his face glowering as bright red as a tomato upon listening to her perverse choice of words. He certainly would never expect hearing those kinds of words out of her mouth, considering the distance from past relationship between each other.
"Cho! You're really taking this far!" Harry managed to sputter out despite of his previous reaction. Cho stood up.
"I completely understand your feelings at this point, so I will leave you to rest," Cho announced, smiling back at him. "I love you, Harry, and I will do whatever it takes to help you find your love for me again. Give it some time and it will all be better. Our union will be the greatest memory for us to experience soon enough. I know that you still love me."
"I'm afraid right now to say this, but I'll have to put a damper on those wedding plans, Cho," Harry retorted. Cho maintained her cheery smile as she took out her own wand. With a quick wave, Harry discovered that his magical bonds were loosed. He was free to move again; her objection in freeing him was odd enough to comprehend. The only problem was that Cho was still possession of his own wand, thus still rendering him powerless against her.
"I know you, Harry, and just so that you won't think too ill of me right now, I've given your body liberty as it should," Cho clarified. "But I'll warn you that fleeing from me now will be pointless. And I know how much of a gentleman you are." She then slipped Harry's wand deep into the sleeves of her robes. Harry blushed, knowing that recovering his wand would prove to be an even more difficult task, on a personal and moral level. He silently swore to himself. "I really do prefer if you enjoy your stay here. It will be easier for you to bear."
"I won't surrender to you that easily. And I'm not going to, as you so eloquently put it, 'fill you up,' because I'm not going to have you sell yourself short like this."
"Ah, that noble and fiery attitude of yours just takes my breath away… Anyway, you don't need to worry about me 'selling myself short.' After all, this is what I want. I'm going for what I want now instead of simpering around like everyone else from Hogwarts and elsewhere see me at this point. They've probably forgotten about me by now, which is good for me. I've got nothing to lose."
"Cho…" Harry sighed. He felt and checked his wrists as he sat up on the bed.
"Besides, there are special charms and magical artifacts under the Chang household that will help make my dreams come true, one of them having been mentioned by you that supposedly won't come true," Cho continued with a wink. Harry looked at her warily. "I know of a few that will help you get in the right mood when we begin that first glorious step in 'getting to know each other' at a greater and more intimate level." Instead of blushing red, Harry felt his face run cold and pale as though he suffered a Dementor attack.
"You wouldn't…!"
"Get some rest now, love," Cho called back to him as she walked to the door. "Dinner will be ready in a bit. I love you!"
And with the casual sealing of the door, Harry Potter was left to himself in her room. He imagined hearing a crash of glass as the door closed in front of him. The pieces of reality before him were scattered. He gazed upon the bare floor solemnly, the surreal pieces were there for him to gather and repair. He still had his ability to act for himself, but with current circumstance and limited resources, only so much could be done within his limited power. The least he could do is to help his love-struck captor recover her rationality. The mirror was shattered, but it was not beyond repair. With nothing else to lose, she threw all caution into the wind and had orchestrated this scene. She threw everything away, all for him. This was not how Harry hoped for a friend, much less a former love of his.
"So… nothing left to lose, huh…? Easier said than done, I'll give her that…"
So what do you all think? This is my first Harry Potter piece. I mean no offense to the Harry/Cho fans out there. I truthfully like the pairing myself and wish that there were more stories of it out there. The whole scene was inspired from another story I read long ago, but unfortunately, I can't remember which one. I didn't have an account then, so I did not get to save it. But that was where I received inspiration in making this one-shot.
So was it rather OOC for both characters? I would imagine it so, but I hope that the descriptions in the story have explained the changes and transitions of behavior well enough. I've gone off from the books, and this was one interpretation I felt prompted to post up to see what you readers think. I'll leave it up to you all.
Please review and give me feedback!