Author's Note: Okay, I do realize that this is incredibly stupid and I agree with all the rest of you who say that Cho must die (I don't want some older woman breaking Harry's heart!) but all the rest of my ideas were taken! Anyway, I wanted to do something different so I did it from Cho's POV. It's basically a retelling of the Gryffindor vs. Ravenclaw quidditch game. Please don't kill me! I made her into a nice person because in the actual book she seems nice, but future books may contradict my theory. Please read and review and be nice - my first fic!
The morning of the match dawned clear and warm, the kind of day that makes you smile no matter how wrinkled your sheets are or how messy your bed-hair is. I opened my eyes to soft, warm rays of sunlight drifting across the covers on my bed. I lay there for a moment, enjoying the sun's warmth on my face. I was just thinking about how nice it was to be awakened by nature and not by Captain Davies shaking me awake at the crack of dawn for practice when I remembered - the match! "Ohhhh," I groaned and rolled over, burying my face into my pillow, my happiness ebbing away. The match, the big match....the match against Gryffindor.....against Harry Potter and his Firebolt.....he was so lucky. A real Firebolt. Wow. I sighed enviously, thinking of my own Comet Two-Sixty.
The curtains of my four poster parted and the cheerful face of Erin Sanders, my best friend and roommate, peered around them. "Rise and shine, sleepy-head!" She joked. flopping down at the foot of my bed. I could feel her dainty back on my feet. "Oh God," I muttered, burying my face in my hands. Erin laughed.
"C'mon Cho, get up! Today's the big game!" As if I needed reminding! I peeked at her through my fingers.
"Erin, you are too freaking cheerful in the morning."
"I know," she grinned. "So, ready for the big match?" I didn't answer. She sat up. "Cho - what's wrong?" I allowed my own brown eyes to meet her sparkling hazel, and she understood. "Oh Cho, you know you'll do great. You always do." I snorted.
"I think I know a few people who could argue with that!" Erin rolled her eyes.
"Like who?"
"Well, Davies for one."
"Cho, Davies is a maniac. You've only lost one match before, and that was only because stupid Terrence Higgs-"
"I know what he did," I said irritably, cringing at the memory. I could remember only too well the day in my first year when Higgs knocked me off my broom....I clenched my fists.
"Well, anyway, I still think you'll do great - I don't know what you're so worried about. Now c'mon, we're gonna be late." She hopped off my bed and began pulling clothes out of her trunk. I sighed and followed suit, resisting the urge to crawl back under the covers and skip the match completely. I half-heartedly pulled on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt and tied my hair back into a ponytail. Erin joined me at the mirror, plaiting her hair into perfect braids. Erin's beautiful - she really is. She has this mid-length, chestnut brown hair that falls in ripples down her back and light, fair skin with a sprinkling of freckles across her nose and cheeks. But the best part about her appearance, I think, is her eyes. She has these huge, almond-shaped hazel eyes that always have this fun, mischievous sparkle to them. What I wouldn't give for those eyes. We left the dormitory, Erin skipping and me trudging along behind her. I shot one last glance at my warm, inviting four-poster before Erin slammed the door shut, grabbed my arm and dragged me down to the Great Hall for breakfast.
As we reached the Ravenclaw table, we split up. Erin went to sit with the rest of the girls from our dorm, and I walked past them, toward the end of the table that beared the Ravenclaw quidditch team. As I walked down the side of the table I heard voices calling to me.
"Good luck, Cho!"
"You're gonna do great!"
"Go Ravenclaw!" I grinned. I was the last member of the team to arrive. I slipped into a seat next to Leila Keller, one of the beaters, hoping Davies wouldn't notice my tardiness. He didn't. I sighed with relief and Leila turned to me, grinning. I grinned back at her, then jerked my head in Davies's direction and rolled my eyes. She giggled, but quickly stifled it as Davies glared at us. To avoid his stare, I turned to the Gryffindor table, hoping to see if they looked as nervous as I felt. However, the crowd around their table was so thick that there was nothing to be seen. I turned to Leila.
"What's going on over there?"
"It's Harry Potter's Firebolt. I don't think anyone's ever really seen one besides the one on display in Diagon Alley." Of course. I should have known. Harry Potter was the only one in the whole of Hogwarts to ever own a Firebolt. Rumor had it that he didn't even know who had given it to him. No wonder it was such a big deal. "They've laid it out in the middle of the table," Leila continued, "so everyone can see it."
"You've seen it?" She grinned guiltily.
"Yeah. Sorry Cho. I couldn't resist."
"It's okay." Leila turned back to her scrambled eggs and I tried to ease the jolts of nervousness mixed with the pangs of jealousy at the Firebolt in my stomach.
"Eat up, all of you," came Davies's voice. "Cho - why aren't you eating anything? You need your strength for the game!" Eat? He must be insane. Just the thought of food made me nauseous. "Cho? Are you sick or something?"
"I think I'm going to be," I answered, my head sinking into my hands.
"It's just nerves. Eat!" Davies grabbed my plate and began piling it with sausage, eggs and hash browns. I sighed and picked up my fork.
Just then Penelope Clearwater, a seventh year, came hurrying back to the table looking extremely excited. "They let me hold it!" She exclaimed, "it's amazing - he's really lucky." Ugh. This was just pathetic. I glared at her. She was such a know-it-all. A loud burst of laughter from behind me diverted my attention to the Gryffindor table once again. I turned in time to see Draco Malfoy stalking away from the table, looking furious, his two thugs at his heels. As they reached the Slytherin table, the entire Slytherin team gathered around, probably asking about the Firebolt. I glared at them, disgusted.
"It's just a stupid broomstick," I told myself. Leila turned around.
"Did you say something?"
"Uh...no." I felt my face grow hot.
"Okay team, let's go,"said Davies, rising from the table and heading for the doors. I took a deep breath and followed him. We paraded across the Great Hall and exited to loud cheers. Outside, we were greeted by a soft breeze that ruffled my hair and somehow managed to calm my nerves a bit. We continued on to the empty Quidditch field. I felt extremely small as I looked at row after row of raised seats in the huge stadium. Of course, it didn't help that I was naturally about a head shorter than everyone else my age. We made our way to the locker rooms, where I pulled on my blue quidditch robes and seated myself on one of the benches, waiting for Davies's boring pep talk. A few minutes later he began. "Okay team, this is it....." I wondered if he'd notice if I took a short nap.....Finally, I heard him say, "Okay, let's go!" I stood and followed the rest of the team, willing my legs to carry me. I had the odd sensation that they had suddenly turned to Jello.
Loud cheers erupted as we left the locker room. I was surprised to see that even the Slytherins were cheering for us. I was sure it was only because they were as anxious to see Gryffindor defeated as the Ravenclaws were. The Gryffindor team was not yet on the field. The stadium could not have looked more different than it had fifteen minutes before. Every seat was filled with excited, cheering Hogwarts students and teachers.
The Gryffindor team entered the stadium and the two hundred people in the Gryffindor section exploded. I could see Harry Potter at the end of the line, clutching his Firebolt. Even from far away, I could tell why everyone had made such a big deal about it at breakfast. Madam Hooch blew her whistle and we all hurried to the center of the field. I took my place at the end of our line and peered around Leila's head to see what was going on. "Wood, Davies, shake hands," I heard Madam Hooch say. They grasped each others hands. I focused on Harry, who looked very nervous. He glanced up at me and I smiled. I didn't want him to hate me.
Just then, Madam Hooch's shrill whistle pierced the air and I kicked off the ground. Harry rocketed into the air, higher than anyone else. I'd noticed that he tended to stay above the game to search for the Snitch. Personally, I preferred to stay in the game, where the excitement was.
Lee Jordan began the commentary: "They're off, and the big excitement this match is the Firebolt that Harry Potter is flying for Gryffindor. According to Which Broomstick, the Firebolt's going to be the broom of choice for the national teams at this year's World Championship -" Professor McGonagall interrupted.
"Jordan, would you mind telling us what's going on in the match?" Thank you, McGonagall, I thought. Why all the fuss about a stupid broomstick? But what Lee had said gave me a sudden idea. Sure, Harry had the better broom, and therefore, the immediate advantage over me. But if I marked him, he wouldn't be able to do anything with it......I zoomed up to where he hovered, a few feet above Davies's head. He saw me coming and sped off. I caught up with him and cut in front of him, and he changed direction. I cut across him again. It was working! He couldn't go anywhere.
Suddenly, Harry wasn't in front of me anymore. I looked down and saw him diving at breakneck speed toward the ground where a tiny speck of gold glittered in in the sun. I gasped and pointed my broom downward, but it was hopeless. Maybe my skills were a match for his, but my broom certainly wasn't. Then, out of nowhere, a Bludger zoomed through the air, headed straight at Harry. He swerved out of the way to avoid getting knocked off his broom, and I felt my heart start to beat again. I whipped around and saw Leila, who gave me the thumbs up sign and winked. I grinned.
I listened again to Lee's commentary. "- Chang's Comet is really no match for it, the Firebolt's precision-balance...." Oh great. Rub it in. I focused again on following Harry. If that happened again, I might not be so lucky. I caught a glimpse of Harry's face as I swerved in front of him: his brow was furrowed in concentration and his eyes were surveying the field, searching for the Snitch. He suddenly whirled around and began speeding off toward the Gryffindor goal posts. I sped after him - swerved in front of him - he switched directions quickly to avoid crashing into me and I could hear the Gryffindor Keeper's voice echoing through the air - "HARRY, THIS IS NO TIME TO BE A GENTLEMAN! KNOCK HER OFF HER BROOM IF YOU HAVE TO!" I grinned. Harry flew off and I followed him, feeling rather proud of myself. But he took another dive and I felt the now familiar jolt of panic in my stomach. I groaned inwardly (not again), and took off after him. I had just managed to catch up to him when he suddenly pulled out of the dive and soared upward again. I was about to follow him when he accelerated and began flying toward the Ravenclaw end of the field where the Snitch hovered in midair.....there wasn't much time - maybe I could catch up with him....I focused on the golden glimmer ahead and flew toward it. Even so, I knew it was hopeless. The Snitch was his. I began looking around for a distraction, something, anything - and something came. On the ground, so many feet below us, three tall figures came gliding on to the field. They could be only one thing - Dementors. "Oh!" I cried, pointing. It worked. He glanced down, and I saw his eyes widen in fear. Then the fear changed to determination. In a second, he had reached down the neck of his robes and grabbed his wand.
"Expecto patronum!" He hollered. I watched, amazed, as a silver jet of light burst out of the end of his wand and turned into a large, wispy shadow that began to charge down the Dementors. I remembered the Snitch and turned back to it, but it was now in Harry's hand.
"Oh no!" I gasped, a wave of disappointment washing over me. I turned my broomstick and headed toward the ground. I landed, Leila right behind me. She smiled at me.
"You did fine," she told me quietly, "it's hard to beat a Firebolt."
"I know," I told her, gratefully, "thanks." And even as screaming Gryffindors poured on to the field, as Davies came marching over looking very mad, I couldn't help but feel proud.