Cho Chang had a lot of thinking to do after the Battle at Hogwarts. Sure, Lord Voldemort was gone and Harry Potter was everyone's hero, but where did that leave her? She didn't have Harry – Ginny did – and she had already left Hogwarts, only returning to fight with the others. She saw numerous people she cared about die in the War, and even more injured. Though she survived physically, she would always have those memories, those emotions, inside of her. Scars like that would never go away.

There were always those "what if?" moments that would come and go as she got older: what if another dark wizard decided to try and take over? What if she and her family were threatened, tortured, or even killed? Did she want to continue living a life like this? Sure being a witch had benefits, but at what risk? At what cost?

Cho knew what she needed to do. Sitting in her bedroom in the dark, the moon high in the sky outside, she picked up her wand and studied it. She remembered first getting it in Ollivander's. She had gone through many of the wands he picked out for her; they all weren't the right fit. They felt powerful – but not right. At last Ollivander handed her a wand that, when she took it, felt like it was waiting for her. She could feel its power in her hand, the way it sent tingles up her arm. She and the wand connected, and as she thought back to that day in Diagon Alley, she knew that they had gone through much together.

From first year classes to the War, the wand had seen much use. She remembered accidentally setting little Professor Flitwick's hat on fire in Charms class, and how she singed her eyebrows off when all she had to do was turn them a different color. The first time she successfully transfigured a cat into a cushion made her smile, as Professor McGonagall looked on with a tight but proud smile. Then came the DA meetings with Harry and the others. She could proudly say she learned much from him and her offensive spells greatly improved after that.

She stared at the wand a little while longer, her time at Hogwarts flipping like a story book in her mind and, her eyes squeezed shut, she took the wand in both hands and snapped it into two pieces. She expected to feel sorrow and pain when she heard the piercing sound of her wand snapping, but she felt... relief. She wouldn't have to worry about anyone coming after her; she knew that her parents could take care of themselves if the time came for that, but she just couldn't take the pain anymore. It seemed to her that being a witch caused far more death – unnecessary death – than living as a muggle ever would. Muggles don't have to worry about an evil wizard bursting through their door and casting a curse on them, or using them as puppets.

She knew that there would be things that she would miss greatly about being a witch, flying on a broomstick being the thing she'd miss the most. She loved Quidditch, and using a broom to simply sweep a floor wouldn't be the same.

Getting up off of her bed, she moved swiftly around her room and packed up a large duffel bag with clothes, books, and her essentials. Her parents didn't know about this, but they had a very distant muggle cousin who lived close by in London and she was going to stay with them for a while, just until she could get on her feet. She walked with her bag into the kitchen and scribbled a quick note onto a piece of paper.

Mum, dad,

I know that you won't understand, at least for now, but I don't want to be a witch any longer. I've broken my wand in half and have decided to set out on my own. I need this. I live in this world of death and chaos, and I can't take it anymore. Don't try and find me. I... need to do this on my own.

I love you guys. I'll be in touch soon.

Love, Cho

A stray tear fell onto the paper, smudging the "Love, Cho" part a bit. Her parents would wake up in a few hours to start their day and this is what they'd find. She quickly flew out of the door and started running as if her life depended on it. A part of her wanted to turn around and rip up the letter and desperately try and do something about her wand, but the dominant part told her to keep running. She knew deep inside of her that she didn't want this life anymore.

With each pounding step into the darkness, Cho Chang – the witch who dated Harry Potter, the witch who was a part of Dumbledore's Army, the witch who battled alongside her friends in the War – was left behind.

It was time for Cho Chang to brave the world as a muggle.

A/N: I'm not sure how many people are going to read this, but to those who do, HI! You may know me as BubblyAmericanWriter1, and if you do, then welcome to my new FF account. I'll be taking down my other one in a few days, but don't fret, I backed up my stories so if I feel like re-posting them, I shall. So if you're a fan of mine, thanks for sticking around! :)

If you're new: hai! :D

I hope you guys like this story; this is sort of a new idea of mine, I've just recently gotten to shipping Chudley (Cho/Dudley) after seeing something on Facebook about it. I think it's cute. :)

Put me on your favorites and alerts, because more is on the way!

-D

Edit: 9-2-12

It's now going to be Cho/Draco instead of Cho/Dudley. More details in Chapter 2. Sorry for the confusion!