Eternal Passion
Chapter 2
It was two days before Harry was due to go and see Cho at her home. Today, he had taken the liberty of watching TV whilst the Dursleys were out. Since most of Dudley's tapes weren't his thing, he had rented a copy of 'The Empire Strikes Back'. He sat watching the scene where Luke was fighting Darth Vader. Even though he could perform magic spells to put any real Jedi to shame, he found the movie gripping. He was literally on the edge of his seat, watching as Luke lost his hand to Vader's blade.
"There is no escape. Don't make me destroy you. Luke, you do not yet realise your importance. You have only begun to discover your power. Join me, and I will complete your training. With our combined strength, we can end this destructive conflict, and bring order to the galaxy."
"I'll never join YOU!"
"If you only knew the power of the dark side. Obi-wan never told you what happened to your father."
"He told me enough! He told me you killed him."
"No. I am your father."
Harry watched the film with rapt attention. He felt a sort of affinity with Luke, as he too had been thrust into a whole world devoid of family, but he knew his father wasn't an evil warlord whereas Darth Vader was. Maybe his father had been a bit of a prat when he was Harry's age, but he'd been a decent man later on in life. He shrugged, feeling glad his father wasn't Darth Vader, and that this was only a film. He watched as the Falcon airlifted Luke off Bespin being chased by some fighters. He smiled as C-3PO slandered R2-D2, and then finally as the Rebels moved on. He stopped the tape and rewound it. His mind flew right back to Cho and the trip in two days. He wondered how Cho was planning on getting him to and from her home. He couldn't Apparate yet, he couldn't fly and he didn't even know where she lived. He decided to just wait for Cho to come to him. For the rest of the day he did the chores set for him by his aunt, who had been a bit more civil to him these days. Perhaps the thought a werewolf was protecting Harry had inspired such a change, or maybe Dumbledore's Howler from last year was embedded in her mind. Either way, Petunia was more inclined to treat Harry as a human being rather than a parasite. His cousin Dudley showed no extra gratitude towards him for saving his life last summer, but Harry seriously doubted giving Dudley a ton of chocolate would change his bullying nature. He sat in the garden, tending to some strawberry plants he'd planted since getting back from Hogwarts. Since he seemed to be surrounded by death, with no family barring the Dursleys remaining, and a prophecy that marked him as a slayer or the slain, he had taken an interest in helping new life to flourish. He had been giving them a tiny bit of help with some magic fertiliser, and they were already showing signs of bearing fruit in a day or two.
Finally, it was time for Cho to show up. Harry waited all evening, wondering if she had the address correctly spelt out. But just as he was giving up hope, he heard the sound of a car pull up. He felt a twinge in his stomach. Not even Ron and Hermione had visited his home, at least, in a conventional manner. Ron's two visits had been marked with bars being torn from the attic window and half the living room being blown up. Hermione would have possibly gone down ok with his aunt and uncle, as she had parents who were Muggles, and knew how to act around them without arousing suspicion. Mr Weasley's idea of acting normal around a Muggle was to discuss everything mechanical as if it were worthy of a Nobel Prize. Harry waited for what seemed like hours, and then came a hesitant knock on the door. Harry slowly went to the door and opened it. Stood outside was Cho Chang, dressed casual in Muggle attire. She was wearing a pair of black jeans, a white t-shirt and a beige jacket. Her long dark hair was unbraided and cascaded down her back to about her shoulder blades. She gave a hesitant smile and blushed as she saw Harry.
"Hi Harry. Are you, um, ready to go yet?"
Before Harry could answer, Dudley came up to the door and stopped short, his eyes widening when he saw Cho.
"Whoa, now you're a hot one. What are you doing with a loser like Potter here?"
Cho's eyes widened too, but in disgust at Dudley's massive form. Dudley mistook her look for one of admiration, and decided to show off his boxing talents. Before Harry knew what was going on, the side of his face was hurting badly from a punch from Dudley. He winced and scowled at his cousin, but before either of them could make a move, Cho intervened. She dodged past them and picked up Harry's bag for him.
"Come on Harry. Lets go."
She took his hand and pulled him away from Dudley, both of them flushing red. Cho got into her car after holding the door open for Harry, then climbed in after him. A man who Harry assumed was Cho's father or uncle sat at the wheel. Harry did up his seatbelt as the car pulled out of Privet Drive. He looked over Cho's car, aware that Cho was watching him. Finally, curiosity overcame him.
"Cho? Can this car fly or teleport or anything?"
Cho shook her head. Harry looked puzzled as they drove on for 15 minutes or so before coming to an empty clearing in a wood. There was one of the most bizarre creatures Harry had ever seen. Cho noted his surprise and smiled.
"That's a Violta dragon. They live in the Himalayas, Tibet especially. Whatever you do, don't wind him up. Approach him slowly, and keep one hand out where he can see it. If he recoils, back off. If not, you can go pat him."
Harry smiled at Cho.
"You've really taken Hagrid's lessons to heart haven't you? You're starting to sound like him, the way he lectured me when I was about to pet Buckbeak for the first time."
Cho blushed and pushed him forward.
"Go on, do like I said and hopefully Pai Lung will think you're ok."
Harry nervously approached the dragon. Pai Lung looked at him through shiny turquoise eyes. He had the appearance of being underfed, and was very slender. His scales were a very dark red in colour, tinged with lighter red closer towards the spine. Along the spine was a ridge of fur, pearly white and glossy. Harry held out one hand, although he couldn't help feel he was giving the dragon an excellent opportunity to bite his hand off. After examining Harry carefully, Pai Lung stayed totally still. Harry advanced further, and finally his hand touched the dragon's hide. He had expected the skin to be rough and scaly, but found the dragon's skin to be smooth. He stroked the dragon down it's furred back, noticing that it was warm to the touch. Pai Lung crouched low on the ground. Harry noticed it stood primarily on its back legs. Its two front legs looked more designed to hold down prey. The dragons' claws were like scythes, implying that to annoy this creature could be as wise as offending a Hippogriff. Cho walked up to her dragon.
"Most books don't mention Violta dragons, as they're very rare. Generally they get about this size, but some will go three times as big. Their numbers in the wild are only around two hundred, but a century ago, there were only twenty left, so they've been doing well."
She mounted Pai Lung, who didn't seem to mind her at all. Gently she nudged the sides of his neck, and he lay down for Harry to get on. Harry climbed on and crawled up the dragon until he was behind Cho. Cho smiled and nudged Pai Lung forwards. Suddenly, from behind them, there was a yell. Cho and Harry lurched round. A Death-Eater, one of Lord Voldemort's followers, was running at them. Cho panicked. Harry reached inside his t-shirt for his wand. Pai Lung however, didn't stop to see if the newcomer was friendly or not. He seemed to retract in on himself, and then from the four antennae over his face came an immense flash of lightning. The Death-Eater took the attack unprepared, and collapsed. Pai Lung flexed his leathery wings and gave a rattling shriek. He broke into a run and jumped into the air, his thickly muscled tail swaying in the wind. Harry felt his pulse racing as the dragon climbed high in the sky. In front of him, Cho was sweating in panic. Very cautiously, he put a hand on her shoulder. She turned around and looked at him.
"W-w-what is it, H-h-harry?"
Harry felt a warm flush creep to his face.
"You ARE ok, aren't you Cho?"
"Considering we were just attacked by a Death-Eater, yes, I'm fine. I wanted to say thanks for caring."
Harry felt a very strong desire to be anywhere other than with Cho at that point in time. But a huge part of him couldn't stand to be AWAY from her. Even after she'd begun dating Michael Corner, he had still felt for her. It was just his feelings were so deep down after he lost his godfather. He looked at her, and felt entranced by her deep, chocolate brown eyes. Pai Lung continued to fly them along at a high speed, considering he was carrying at least eighty kilograms extra. He shifted on the dragon's back, and Cho blushed. Pai Lung seemed to look back at his passengers, and almost seemed to smile.
Chapter 2
It was two days before Harry was due to go and see Cho at her home. Today, he had taken the liberty of watching TV whilst the Dursleys were out. Since most of Dudley's tapes weren't his thing, he had rented a copy of 'The Empire Strikes Back'. He sat watching the scene where Luke was fighting Darth Vader. Even though he could perform magic spells to put any real Jedi to shame, he found the movie gripping. He was literally on the edge of his seat, watching as Luke lost his hand to Vader's blade.
"There is no escape. Don't make me destroy you. Luke, you do not yet realise your importance. You have only begun to discover your power. Join me, and I will complete your training. With our combined strength, we can end this destructive conflict, and bring order to the galaxy."
"I'll never join YOU!"
"If you only knew the power of the dark side. Obi-wan never told you what happened to your father."
"He told me enough! He told me you killed him."
"No. I am your father."
Harry watched the film with rapt attention. He felt a sort of affinity with Luke, as he too had been thrust into a whole world devoid of family, but he knew his father wasn't an evil warlord whereas Darth Vader was. Maybe his father had been a bit of a prat when he was Harry's age, but he'd been a decent man later on in life. He shrugged, feeling glad his father wasn't Darth Vader, and that this was only a film. He watched as the Falcon airlifted Luke off Bespin being chased by some fighters. He smiled as C-3PO slandered R2-D2, and then finally as the Rebels moved on. He stopped the tape and rewound it. His mind flew right back to Cho and the trip in two days. He wondered how Cho was planning on getting him to and from her home. He couldn't Apparate yet, he couldn't fly and he didn't even know where she lived. He decided to just wait for Cho to come to him. For the rest of the day he did the chores set for him by his aunt, who had been a bit more civil to him these days. Perhaps the thought a werewolf was protecting Harry had inspired such a change, or maybe Dumbledore's Howler from last year was embedded in her mind. Either way, Petunia was more inclined to treat Harry as a human being rather than a parasite. His cousin Dudley showed no extra gratitude towards him for saving his life last summer, but Harry seriously doubted giving Dudley a ton of chocolate would change his bullying nature. He sat in the garden, tending to some strawberry plants he'd planted since getting back from Hogwarts. Since he seemed to be surrounded by death, with no family barring the Dursleys remaining, and a prophecy that marked him as a slayer or the slain, he had taken an interest in helping new life to flourish. He had been giving them a tiny bit of help with some magic fertiliser, and they were already showing signs of bearing fruit in a day or two.
Finally, it was time for Cho to show up. Harry waited all evening, wondering if she had the address correctly spelt out. But just as he was giving up hope, he heard the sound of a car pull up. He felt a twinge in his stomach. Not even Ron and Hermione had visited his home, at least, in a conventional manner. Ron's two visits had been marked with bars being torn from the attic window and half the living room being blown up. Hermione would have possibly gone down ok with his aunt and uncle, as she had parents who were Muggles, and knew how to act around them without arousing suspicion. Mr Weasley's idea of acting normal around a Muggle was to discuss everything mechanical as if it were worthy of a Nobel Prize. Harry waited for what seemed like hours, and then came a hesitant knock on the door. Harry slowly went to the door and opened it. Stood outside was Cho Chang, dressed casual in Muggle attire. She was wearing a pair of black jeans, a white t-shirt and a beige jacket. Her long dark hair was unbraided and cascaded down her back to about her shoulder blades. She gave a hesitant smile and blushed as she saw Harry.
"Hi Harry. Are you, um, ready to go yet?"
Before Harry could answer, Dudley came up to the door and stopped short, his eyes widening when he saw Cho.
"Whoa, now you're a hot one. What are you doing with a loser like Potter here?"
Cho's eyes widened too, but in disgust at Dudley's massive form. Dudley mistook her look for one of admiration, and decided to show off his boxing talents. Before Harry knew what was going on, the side of his face was hurting badly from a punch from Dudley. He winced and scowled at his cousin, but before either of them could make a move, Cho intervened. She dodged past them and picked up Harry's bag for him.
"Come on Harry. Lets go."
She took his hand and pulled him away from Dudley, both of them flushing red. Cho got into her car after holding the door open for Harry, then climbed in after him. A man who Harry assumed was Cho's father or uncle sat at the wheel. Harry did up his seatbelt as the car pulled out of Privet Drive. He looked over Cho's car, aware that Cho was watching him. Finally, curiosity overcame him.
"Cho? Can this car fly or teleport or anything?"
Cho shook her head. Harry looked puzzled as they drove on for 15 minutes or so before coming to an empty clearing in a wood. There was one of the most bizarre creatures Harry had ever seen. Cho noted his surprise and smiled.
"That's a Violta dragon. They live in the Himalayas, Tibet especially. Whatever you do, don't wind him up. Approach him slowly, and keep one hand out where he can see it. If he recoils, back off. If not, you can go pat him."
Harry smiled at Cho.
"You've really taken Hagrid's lessons to heart haven't you? You're starting to sound like him, the way he lectured me when I was about to pet Buckbeak for the first time."
Cho blushed and pushed him forward.
"Go on, do like I said and hopefully Pai Lung will think you're ok."
Harry nervously approached the dragon. Pai Lung looked at him through shiny turquoise eyes. He had the appearance of being underfed, and was very slender. His scales were a very dark red in colour, tinged with lighter red closer towards the spine. Along the spine was a ridge of fur, pearly white and glossy. Harry held out one hand, although he couldn't help feel he was giving the dragon an excellent opportunity to bite his hand off. After examining Harry carefully, Pai Lung stayed totally still. Harry advanced further, and finally his hand touched the dragon's hide. He had expected the skin to be rough and scaly, but found the dragon's skin to be smooth. He stroked the dragon down it's furred back, noticing that it was warm to the touch. Pai Lung crouched low on the ground. Harry noticed it stood primarily on its back legs. Its two front legs looked more designed to hold down prey. The dragons' claws were like scythes, implying that to annoy this creature could be as wise as offending a Hippogriff. Cho walked up to her dragon.
"Most books don't mention Violta dragons, as they're very rare. Generally they get about this size, but some will go three times as big. Their numbers in the wild are only around two hundred, but a century ago, there were only twenty left, so they've been doing well."
She mounted Pai Lung, who didn't seem to mind her at all. Gently she nudged the sides of his neck, and he lay down for Harry to get on. Harry climbed on and crawled up the dragon until he was behind Cho. Cho smiled and nudged Pai Lung forwards. Suddenly, from behind them, there was a yell. Cho and Harry lurched round. A Death-Eater, one of Lord Voldemort's followers, was running at them. Cho panicked. Harry reached inside his t-shirt for his wand. Pai Lung however, didn't stop to see if the newcomer was friendly or not. He seemed to retract in on himself, and then from the four antennae over his face came an immense flash of lightning. The Death-Eater took the attack unprepared, and collapsed. Pai Lung flexed his leathery wings and gave a rattling shriek. He broke into a run and jumped into the air, his thickly muscled tail swaying in the wind. Harry felt his pulse racing as the dragon climbed high in the sky. In front of him, Cho was sweating in panic. Very cautiously, he put a hand on her shoulder. She turned around and looked at him.
"W-w-what is it, H-h-harry?"
Harry felt a warm flush creep to his face.
"You ARE ok, aren't you Cho?"
"Considering we were just attacked by a Death-Eater, yes, I'm fine. I wanted to say thanks for caring."
Harry felt a very strong desire to be anywhere other than with Cho at that point in time. But a huge part of him couldn't stand to be AWAY from her. Even after she'd begun dating Michael Corner, he had still felt for her. It was just his feelings were so deep down after he lost his godfather. He looked at her, and felt entranced by her deep, chocolate brown eyes. Pai Lung continued to fly them along at a high speed, considering he was carrying at least eighty kilograms extra. He shifted on the dragon's back, and Cho blushed. Pai Lung seemed to look back at his passengers, and almost seemed to smile.