hogwarts school of witchcraft & wizardry: food court - guess the name - cho
title from in heaven by japanese breakfast
"Hey, Cho!" someone calls from down the hall. Cho turns, sees that it's Hermione Granger. She lets a tentative smile rise to her lips and walks over.
"Are you free next Hogsmeade weekend?" Hermione asks.
She was going to shop for quills with a friend, but Marietta can wait. "Yeah, what for?" Cho doesn't really let herself hope.
Hermione grins big, like Professor Sprout's just asked about the uses of dragon dung fertilizer and she knows the answer. She explains that Harry's going to teach them real Defense, that they're going to meet in secret. "We really have no choice, with Umbridge not letting us do magic. We need to be able to defend ourselves from—"
"I know," Cho says; she knows better than anyone. She sees Cedric in her dreams, pale and lifeless, nothing like the boy he once was.
Hermione frowns and takes a step forward, into Cho's space. Her eyes dart to Hermione's lips, and she feels intense guilt. He's dead. He's dead and Cho is thinking about Hermione in a way she shouldn't be.
"It wouldn't have helped," Hermione says, as soft now as she had been brusque. She puts a hand on her shoulder. "There was no time."
Cho is nodding, she knows this, and then she is crying into Hermione's shoulder, crying like she hasn't in weeks. Hermione lets her cry until the sobs stop coming, and then helps her wipe away the tears.
"I'll come," Cho says, and it feels in her mouth like thank you. She thinks Hermione understands.