Written for Hogwarts Ancient Runes: write a story about one of the following prompts. Prompt: A light in the darkness. You can interpret that however you'd like, but it must be clear in the story. Extra prompts: (gemstone) Amber, (word) Protection (I used a variation, I hope that's okay)

The walk would have been pleasant if her feet weren't completely numb in her boots. Usually, she would cast a warming charm on her feet, but she was walking through a muggle populated neighbourhood and couldn't even consider doing something so stupid. She tried to ignore her frozen fingers shoved under her armpits in the desperate hope to warm them, but that just made her focus on her numb feet.

The houses were all lined up exactly the same in the street covered in snow, and they were all practically identical except for the numbers beside the front door. Cho couldn't really believe how identical they all were even after being here so many times to visit her boyfriend and his parents.

When we live together, our house will be so much nicer.

She would never voice her thoughts aloud, though she might consider telling her boyfriend one day but never the parents. They were a strange lot. Still, she wasn't in love with his family, she was in love with him.

Taking care up the steps thanks to the ice covering them, she shook the soft snowflakes off her shoulders and knocked. The door was almost immediately thrown open and she barely managed to glance at the surprise that flashed over Dudley's face before she was rushed inside.

"Cho! You must be freezing. What are you doing here?"

Cho let herself be led through the entryway and into the familiar family room where a store bought quilt was wrapped around her shoulders.

"Surprise," she said, shivering. She glanced to the fireplace in despair as she sat on the love seat next to her boyfriend, wishing it wasn't boarded up so she could sit in front of a toasty fire and melt the ice off her.

Huddled underneath the blanket and Dudley's arm which he wrapped around her, Cho noticed her boyfriend's parents for the first time sitting in tense silence across from them. They looked worried and scared, but she was more concerned by the overwhelming anger she saw.

"Is everything okay?"

Mrs Dursley—Cho couldn't bring herself to call the woman Petunia, or worse, Mum—smiled at her with tense lips, but Mr Dursley barely even glanced at her.

"What are we going to do?" Mr Dursley said to Petunia, glaring at the floor. "He can't come now."

"Who can't come?" Cho glanced at Dudley who grimaced and leant his head close. She focused on him, barely hearing Mrs Dursley's quiet reply about not knowing how to contact him.

"Do you remember me telling you about my cousin?" Dudley said in a strained whisper. He obviously didn't want his parents to hear what he was saying, and she understood why as soon as he said the word 'cousin'.

"Yes," she practically hissed. When Dudley told her how his parents treated this mystery cousin, she was furious. That was probably the day she knew she'd never love his parents no matter how hard she tried.

"Well, he contacted us and told us he was going to drop by and pick up anything he left behind. Dad's furious, Mum too, but I think she also wants to see him, even just to make sure he's still alive."

Cho frowned at that. Why would they care if he was alive if they hated him, and furthermore, why would this mysterious cousin possibly not be alive? Dudley just said he left when he was seventeen. Brushing that thought away for the moment, Cho turned to look at Dudley and caught him biting his lip, a habit she was trying to break him of.

Pulling his lip away from his teeth, Cho gave him a soft reproaching look. "What about you?"

Dudley shrugged. "Honestly, I'm a little scared. It's been almost four years since I last saw him, and he was, well, a mess. What if he's worse off?"

Cho raised an eyebrow. "That's not for you to worry about. If he's worse, he needs to find help himself. Although, I can understand that you might be worried.

Dudley nodded but he didn't look any more relaxed.

"And," she whispered, prompting him while she shot a subtle glare at Mr Dursley when she heard him mutter the word 'freak'.

"I never treated him right," Dudley said after a pause. "I wouldn't be surprised if he hated me."

"You tried to make amends, Dudley. You apologised, and he must have seen the crap your parents were teaching you. If he can't see that or still blames you, then he's an idiot." Cho hated that Dudley had grown up in such a narrow-minded world. Sometimes she wondered if they'd stay together once Cho told him about being a witch.

Don't think about that; this isn't the time, she scolded herself, pulling the quilt closer when a shiver ran through her.

Dudley shrugged and looked away, but she felt some of the tension leave his arm and smiled. She loved that she could calm him down better than anyone else. She'd never been needed before by any of her previous boyfriends, not even Cedric who she still loved with a small part of her heart.

"It may not matter anyway; he probably won't be around for long. He hated this place."

Cho sighed and buried herself even closer to his side, clenching the amber necklace around her neck. It was a comfort to her, her mother's necklace; she always wore it and whenever she was worried, her hand would clench on the necklace. She hated hearing him so worried.

"Bloody freak better hurry up. I won't wait around all day for the boy."

Cho glared again but managed to keep her face tilted away from Mr And Mrs Dursley. "Why do they call him a freak anyway?" Cho asked.

"Harry's always been different," Dudley said, almost looking scared to tell her more. Something stirred in her mind, but she couldn't grasp what it was before there was a knock at the door.

"I'll get it," Dudley jumped up and rushed to the door, leaving Cho to miss his warmth and pull the quilt closer. She heard the door open and Dudley's hesitant voice, but the person on the other end didn't let him talk for long.

"I'll just be a moment, thanks, Dudley. You look good, are you thinner? I think you're thinner." Cho would have felt some anger burn with the way Dudley's cousin was dismissing him, but she recognised that voice and the frantic pace it was going at. She'd heard it only a few weeks ago in Diagon Alley.

Dudley said Harry, she thought, but surely I'm wrong. Cho stood from the couch intending to check it out, but Mrs Dursley's hand on her arm prevented her movement.

"You stay here, dear. That way you don't have to meet the boy."

Cho wanted to tell her that the 'boy' was twenty-one years old, and had never been a boy, but she could barely make her voice work.

The footsteps came closer and before she managed to think much more about the fact that her secret was probably about to be revealed, a familiar mob of black hair appeared from around the corner.

"Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon."

Harry hadn't seen her, and Cho was surprised by how grateful she was to have just a few more seconds to process.

"I won't stay long, just picking up my stuff. I'd love to stay and chat, but I'm busy pretending I have no family and can't."

Cho snorted at the sarcastic words, and Harry's eyes turned to her. His whole body froze and his eyes widened. She may be a bad person for thinking it, but she was almost pleased to see him so shell-shocked, even though the circumstances were less than ideal. He never seemed shocked at anything.

"That's my girlfriend, Cho. She surprised us with a visit," Dudley said when he appeared from around the corner and spotted who Harry was looking at. There was a protective glint in his eyes, probably responding to the wide-eyed look Harry was giving her. Cho couldn't really blame Dudley; Harry did look like a school boy who just met a supermodel.

"Girlfriend," Harry stuttered, taking a step forward and being blocked by Mr Dursley.

"Yes, Cho is a nice, normal girl that Dudley has introduced us too. Now leave before I make you."

Cho glared at the back of Mr Dursely's head, for once not caring if anyone saw her, her glare intensifying when Harry gave a nervous glance to the man's fists before shaking himself and a smile appearing on his face. Apparently, he just realised what Mr Dursley said.

"Normal? You wouldn't know normal if it bit you on the arse." Harry's words were directed at his aunt and uncle, but his eyes were flickering between herself and Dudley.

He's not going to tell them, she realised when Harry stopped talking at that point. I guess I still think of him as the impulsive, angry teenager instead of the controlled man he's turned into.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Mr Dursley demanded once he found the words, taking a threatening step forward and making Harry glance at the man's fists again.

It's now or never. "He means that I'm not as normal as you make me out to be, Mr Dursley." She kept her tone polite, but now that the shock of discovering her boyfriend was related to her ex-boyfriend, she realised what else this meant.

Harry Potter, the hero of the Wizarding World and her good friend had to live with these people his whole life being abused and neglected and hated. She could feel her anger swirl inside her and only her feelings for Dudley prevented her from yelling at them.

Everyone was staring at her now. Harry was the only one that was looking amused, while everyone else looked confused and concerned. Dudley was flicking his eyes between Harry and her with growing horror and she realised that he was starting to connect the dots.

She winced internally. This could be the end of my relationship, she thought, and she almost wished she hadn't been so impulsive.

"What?" Mr Dursley said, but she ignored him, walking around Mrs Dursley and wrapping Harry in a brief hug.

"How are you?" she said, loud enough to be heard by the other occupants of the house. She heard a distinctly female gasp and knew that Mrs Dursley had figured it out now as well.

"Good, tired. I can't say that with Ginny around, though, no way. I'd have my head bitten off."

Cho winced at his fast words but smiled at him. She knew that it was just one of his quirks nowadays. There was no public knowledge of what happened to Harry when he sacrificed himself, but everyone did know that it changed him. There were a lot of quirks Harry had, but they only showed up when he was nervous, or that's what Ron said once when they ran into each other anyway.

"No, I imagine not when she's as pregnant as she is. Is that why you're here?"

Harry glanced around the room and nodded, stepping away from Cho. "I'll just be. . . I mean, yeah. Sorry for barging in while you were visiting."

"Don't apologise, you didn't know," she scolded, rolling her eyes when he just apologised again.

"What the bloody hell is going on here?" Mr Dursley boomed.

Cho turned and glanced at Dudley who was looking almost broken in his shock before turning to Mr and Mrs Dursley. "Harry and I know each other from school," she said with a defensive air around her.

"School?" Mr Dursley was starting to turn red and Harry took a half step forward, which was surprising until she realised he was now slightly in front of her, protecting her. Dudley seemed to notice this too and the shock on his face morphed into anger. She winced at that.

"Yeah, Hogwarts. I'm assuming you know about our world if Harry grew up here." Cho's voice was strong—she'd faced down scarier people in her life to know how to hide her fear—but Dudley shot her a look, telling her she wasn't fooling him.

"You—you're a freak as well!" Mr Dursley stepped forward and raised a clenched fist, his face bright red. Cho stumbled backwards, helped by Harry who had pushed her out of his reach, but her eyes locked on Dudley who moved in front of both Harry and herself, clenching his father's raised arm.

"My girlfriend is not a freak, and neither is Harry."

Cho could see Harry's mouth fall open, but she was more focused on her boyfriend with relief exploding in her chest. Maybe they could work through this revelation, she thought with a smile on her face that she just couldn't contain.

"She's just like him!" Mr Dursley screamed into his son's face, and Cho just wanted to go over there and slap the man.

"I don't care! I love her and I'm planning on marrying her whether she is a witch or not!"

The air in the house seemed to freeze; the only sound was Dudley's harsh breathing, until his mother let out a loud wail, burying her head in her hands and sobbing.

"Get out," Mr Dursely said.

"What?"

"Get out! You aren't welcome here if you're going to associate with them."

Dudley paled and Cho's eyes widen. They wouldn't.

"You're kicking me out?" Dudley's anger seemed to drain from him and he looked like a lost little boy. He glanced to his mother, but she didn't even glance up at her husband's words. "Mum?"

She shook her head and disappeared into the kitchen, the door shutting behind her acting as a weapon against Dudley.

"Get out. Don't make me say it again."

Dudley opened his mouth, but Mr Dursley took a step forward and loomed over them all. "All three of you freaks!"

Dudley gasped and backed away, knocking into Cho, who gripped his arm and dragged him outside before Mr Dursley lost it again. Harry paused for a moment and whispered something to the man which she couldn't hear, but Mr Dursely was enraged at his words.

"You should have died with your parents, boy! None of this would have happened if it wasn't for you!"

Cho was feeling weak with everything that happened. There were so many emotions swirling around her and she couldn't seem to grasp onto a single one. The door opened and the bitter cold seemed to shock her out of whatever state she'd been in. Turning to Dudley, he was still looking pale and in shock.

The wind was picking up now, tossing the snow around and making her fingers freeze despite the quilt that was still wrapped around her shoulders. It was going to storm soon. Despite the bitter weather and awful circumstances, she found herself smiling just a little. She couldn't believe what just happened.

"I should go," Harry muttered, glancing between her and Dudley with a weak grin and dull eyes.

"Wait! Are you okay?" They may not be close, but Harry was a friend of her's and he'd just had a pretty awful experience.

"I'm fine," he said, smiling softly at her. "Nothing I haven't heard before," he shrugged and took another step away. "Come visit soon, yeah?" he said to Dudley, punching him lightly in the arm, shooting a cheeky grin at Cho, "and bring your girlfriend."

Dudley jolted when Harry spoke to him and rolled his eyes, but didn't say anything more.

"Right, see you later, then." Harry walked down the steps and disappeared around a corner. She waited until she heard to distinct sound of apparating before she spoke to Dudley.

"You okay?" she said, touching his cheek with one hand and clenching the amber necklace around her neck.

He flinched and shook his head, but he didn't speak. His frame shook and she realised he was only wearing a light jumper. It had been warm in the house. "My parents hate me."

His legs shook and Cho gripped his arm to make sure he didn't fall. It wouldn't help him if he was wet as well as cold. She helped him down the steps and started walking in the same direction Harry went.

"I don't think—"

"They do, they hate me." Dudley shuttered and then pulled out of her grip. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Cho sighed and reached for him. "Come on, let's go somewhere warm."

"Where?" Dudley didn't let her grab him and even took a step away from her.

"My house, but we'll have to use magical transportation. I hope that's okay." Cho was surprised when Dudley's eyes widened and he took another step away from her.

"You want—but I could hurt you."

"What?"

"My dad was going to hurt you, and he use to hurt Harry because of what he was. I'm his son. Aren't you scared I could hurt you?"

Cho's hands clenched into fists at the reminder that those people had hurt, not only her boyfriend, but one of her friends as well, but she smiled at Dudley, not wanting him to think she was angry at him. "No," she said with certainty.

"Why not?"

"Because you protected me, and you said you were going to marry me." Cho stepped forward and pulled him impossibly close. "You said you love me, and I love you."

"But—"

"No, don't." Cho moved forward and held his larger hand in between her small ones. "Let's find somewhere warm and then we can talk."

Dudley hesitated but eventually nodded. "Yeah, okay. We do have a lot to talk about."

Cho nodded and pulled him flush against her body. "I know today was bad, but I can't stop smiling."

"A silver lining?" he asked, coming out of his shock a little and smiling down at her.

Cho nodded and then stared at him seriously. "Don't let go of me," she said and somehow she knew she wasn't just saying that because of the apparition.

(w.c 3,019)

WolfWinks –xx-